His
by arisu-the-pink
Summary: Seventeen year old Kagome takes teasing a bit too far one day with dire consequences. To protect Inuyasha from guilt, will she hide his most shameful secret forever? InuKag with a Kouga cameo or two.
1. Dangerous Games

This story was in my head before Courtship, but I spent so much time mulling it over that I lost the desire to write it. I'm ready now, and hopefully my dear readers will enjoy this every bit as much as Courtship.

This takes place approximately two years after the beginning of the series, making Kagome seventeen. 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Just borrowing for a time. Blah, blah, blah…

****

Chapter One.

Damned if she wasn't trying to tease him.

Inuyasha growled silently from his position in the Goshinboku while watching Kagome's rear swing in the air as she bent down to pick up the small yellow blossoms Kaede asked of her. He knew he should look away, but for some reason his body wasn't cooperating. So he continued to stare.

And fume.

"Inuyasha, can you come down here please?"

"Feh. What for?"

Kagome stood up, sending him a long-suffering glare and holding out a basket brimming with herbs and flowers. "My basket's full and I need you to hold it while I grab the last few ingredients." Her glare softened to a smile and she batted her eyelashes for effect, "please?"

Grumbling, Inuyasha leapt down to land before her and grabbed the proffered basket from her arm roughly. "Aren't you done yet? We've been out here for hours."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome knelt to the ground and crawled under a nearby bush. "Got it!" She pulled up the tuberous weed and backed away. "Don't be such a pain, Inuyasha. It's only been half an hour." Stuffing the final ingredient into the already bursting basket, she wiped her hands on her skirt and smirked at him. "Unless you hate my company that much," she taunted him.

He glared at her. "Well?"

"Okay, okay. I'm done."

Tossing her hair casually over her shoulder against the breeze, Kagome took off toward the village, closing her eyes to the peaceful sound of birds chirping. Two long weeks had gone by with no word on unusual demon activities. Naraku was hiding out again, which definitely concerned her, but for the moment there was nothing they could do but sit and wait.

After a while, she began to hum a merry tune she'd picked up from the village children. Something about the coming of spring… she didn't really remember the words but the melody was quite beautiful.

The hanyou stalking behind her continued to growl. It wasn't enough that she had to walk like… like THAT. She was bouncing. Rhythmically. No, that wasn't enough. She had to keep tossing her hair over her shoulders, giving him frequent glimpses of her smooth neck. That soft, beautiful skin that he ached to –

No. He couldn't let his thoughts wander in that direction.

"Inuyasha?"

"What?" he grumbled.

"Do you ever go swimming?"

He stopped in his tracks. "Swimming? No, why?"

"It's hot out, I thought maybe we could grab Sango-chan, Miroku and Shippou and take a trip to the lake."

"Baka, the water will be warm, too. Better to stay indoors in the shade."

She shrugged, continuing toward the village. "Well I'm going to ask them anyway."

* * * * *

Of course, they ended up at the lake. Sango shared Kagome's obsession with bathing, so naturally she was all too eager for a cool dip. Miroku was just happy that he was being invited along.

Inuyasha sat on the edge of the water, Tetsusaiga resting on his shoulder, studiously NOT looking at the attractive young woman splashing in front of him in her immodest bathing suit.

"Come on, Inuyasha! The water's actually cool."

"Hai, join us," Miroku agreed, splashing a spray toward him playfully.

"Not interested."

He'd closed his eyes, hoping to avoid anymore begging when a shadow crossed his path. She was right in front of him, kneeling. Her breasts pressed together underneath the tight fabric of the bathing suit, giving him an ample view of delicious cleavage.

"What's your problem, Inuyasha? You've been grumpy all day!"

"You're imagining things, Wench. Just leave me alone."

"No."  


"What do you mean, no?"

She tugged at his arm, eyes dancing with glee. "Come on, you never have any fun. There aren't any shard rumors, Naraku is dead to the world for now, and I know you're every bit as bored as we are."

He pulled back on the arm, sending Kagome stumbling forward into his lap and knocking Tetsusaiga onto the ground. She sat there for a moment, bewildered, before jumping up again. "C'mon, Inuyasha, just for a little? Can't you even PRETEND to have fun for one day?"

"I already said I'm not interested."

"Please?"  


"No."

"I'll say it."

The half-demon's eyes widened. Was she serious? Would she really sit him just because he refused to play along with their stupid game?

"Os…u…wa..."

He shot up. "Fine!"

She grinned, grabbing his arm again and turning toward the lake with a self-satisfied smirk. She'd barely made it a step when he yanked his arm back again, and shot off into the woods. If he got far enough away, the damned enchantment wouldn't work. He'd left Tetsusaiga.

__

Feh, she'll go back into the water and then I can retrieve it.

Kagome took off in hot pursuit, the moisture from the lake cooling her enough to reach decent speeds. She leapt over bushes, suddenly laughing at her new source of entertainment. This was fun!

"You can't run from me, Inuyasha!"

He wasn't responding, but that didn't bother her. She saw his form off in the distance, and somewhere in the back of her mind wondered how it was that she was gaining on him. It was almost as though he wanted to be caught…

Inuyasha glanced behind him, groaning to himself when he saw the heaving of her chest. The feral arousal he'd been pushing away all day came raging back and he saw red swim into his eyes. Damned girl was acting like a bitch in heat!

He was so busy watching her that he didn't notice the tree in his path.

WHAM!

And he was down for the count. Not so down, though, that he didn't notice when she pounced on him, straddling his midsection and laughing maniacally at his situation.

"Gomen, Inuyasha, but that was priceless. See what you get for running away from me?"

So busy was Kagome with her teasing that she didn't notice the hanyou was growling in increased volume.

"Anyway, you really should join us," she went on. "Unless you're afraid of showing off those big, manly pecs of yours. I suppose Sango and I could share Miroku but that really doesn't seem fair…"

Suddenly, she found herself flipped over and roughly hoisted up into the air before being slung rather carelessly over Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Hey, what are you—"

He barked at her in a menacing tone and shot up into the trees at breakneck speeds, carrying them ever further from the lake where Miroku and Sango shook their heads in bemused wonder.

"Think she'll catch him?"

"Not a chance."

* * * * * 

"INUYASHA! PUT… ME… DOWN… NOW!"

She shrieked as a branch came within inches of her face, red with fury. She had only been teasing, why was he acting like such a jerk?

She pounded on his back helplessly for a few moments more before he came to a stop, landing in what she could only guess was a cave. He pulled her down and plopped her unceremoniously in the back of the cavern.

When he turned to meet her eyes, Kagome gasped.

This wasn't Inuyasha the hanyou. This was Inuyasha – the demon.

"Inu…yasha?" 

He stalked toward her, ripping at the front of his yukata and hakama. He dropped down before her, an evil gleam blazing in the red of his eyes.

Kagome backed away on her hands, never letting her eyes leave the predator before her. She felt her stomach lurch up into her throat. What was he doing? Her back quickly met the wall and there was nowhere to run. Inuyasha's hands shot out to grab her arms, and he pushed her down to the floor, the evil from his eyes seeping into the grin on his face.

"I know what you want, wench."

__

Oh, Kami! Even his voice has changed!

She struggled against his hold when a wash of relief swept over her suddenly. She'd completely forgotten! "Inuyasha – OSUWARI!"

He was now on top of her. And he was angry.

"Eager are we, bitch?"

Kagome's eyes widened. She could feel his arousal pressing up against her thigh. While still pinned down by the spell, Inuyasha moved a hand down to pull up at her bathing suit, growling when it resisted. With a claw, he tore at the seam, snapping the elastic fabric in two.

Tears started to well up in the young woman's eyes as she realized what was about to happen. He wouldn't do it, would he? Her Inuyasha protected her from pain; he wasn't supposed to inflict it upon her!

"Inuyasha, onegai, come back to me. You don't want to do this. This isn't you."

"I always want to do this," he growled back at her. "I know you do too."

"Not like this," she cried, the tears falling in little rivers down her cheeks. "Inuyasha, please…"

The spell started to fade and he lifted up slightly to reposition himself directly above her. Kagome tried to roll out from under him but was held fast by one arm, her legs forcefully separated with the other.

"No, Inuyasha. Please, no…"

"Hush, wench!"  


"NO!!!!!!!"

* * * * * *

Note: Rape scenes bother me. A lot. But it was a necessary evil for the plot and I assure you this is the worst it will ever get in this story. 

To be continued.


	2. Kouga's Mate

See chapter one for disclaimers.

****

Chapter Two.

Night was falling when Inuyasha's breathing slowed into the steady rhythm of sleep. Kagome watched in fearful silence as the stripes on his face faded completely away and his fangs retracted back to their normal hanyou state.

He'd be mortified when he woke up.

Afraid to wake him but more afraid of staying, Kagome eased herself out from under the arm he'd draped over her and rolled away to stand. The cave was becoming impossibly dark. She glanced around the room, shivering in the cold that came with the setting of the sun. Her bathing suit was ruined and her clothing was still piled up at the lake.

Panicking, she paced around the cavern for a while before her eyes rested on Inuyasha's discarded fire-rat haori. She tiptoed to the garment, picked it up and wrapped it securely around herself, hugging its softness to her skin.

She had to escape before Inuyasha woke up.

With a last glance to be sure he was still asleep, Kagome made her way to the cave's entrance and slipped out. A narrow path led down the small hill in which the cavern was buried, which Kagome followed quickly until she felt she was out of his range of hearing.

Leaning against a tree at the base of the hill, she began to cry. Only now, safely away from the nightmare of earlier, could she feel the soreness of her legs and lower regions. She knew she was dirty with blood and fluids, making her a target for hungry youkai. If she didn't make it back to the village soon, she might never return again.

Resolved to her safe return, Kagome sniffled away the last of her tears and pulled herself back up to her feet. She'd begun walking toward the lake when a rustling from the bushes caught her attention. She froze, hoping it was merely a forest animal. Then she sensed something she'd completely missed in her earlier state: two shikon shards.

__

Gods, what now?

"Oi! Kagome, what are you –" Kouga came to a screeching halt as he took in the sight before him. His woman, shivering in that inukkoro's smelly haori, his stench all over her, mixed with the scent of…

Her blood.

Had she betrayed him and mated that arrogant bastard? The look in her eyes told a different story. A full minute had passed with no sound between them. The girl appeared to be beyond words. Shaking himself, he stepped toward her only to have her step further back.

"Kagome, what happened to you?"

She sniffled back a fresh wave of tears, and pulled the haori closer around her shoulders.

"He didn't."

Kagome hesitated, but nodded.

"I'll kill him!"

"NO!"

The fervor in her shaking voice gave Kouga pause, so he turned back to look at her, her eyes now wide with fear. His eyebrows knit in confusion, but she answered his question before he had a chance to speak it.

"He didn't do it on purpose," she whispered. "It was my fault."

Kouga's eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer, relieved when she didn't back away this time. Taking this as a good sign, he continued walking toward her slowly, until he was able to take her arms in his hands and stare her down.

"This was not your fault," he reprimanded her gently, reminding himself that she was still shaken from her ordeal.

"I should have taken the hint when he was being distant," she began to ramble. "I practically threw myself at him, and he didn't even have Tetsusai—"

Kouga growled at her, and clamped a hand over her mouth. Kagome shrunk back a bit, but allowed him to silence her. She was too tired to argue at this point. She shivered again, this time from the chill of the evening breeze. Kouga picked up on this and quickly took her into his arms. She stiffened, but somehow managed to convince herself he meant well and relaxed again.

"You can't wander around like this, especially at night," Kouga began. "I'll take you back to the pack and we'll get you cleaned up and find something else for you to wear. Then you can tell me what happened, if you want."

Without waiting for a response, he took off at shard-enhanced speed toward the mountain where the remains of the wolf youkai tribe resided, his beloved Kagome in his arms. The trip only took ten minutes at his speed, but the howling wind prevented conversation, giving the wolf demon plenty of time to consider the recent developments.

He'd been sure the girl would be safe with her hanyou companion. After all, he was in love with that walking corpse, right? He'd protected Kagome with his life, a fact which Kouga was secretly grateful for. What caused his sudden violent reaction to her? He'd have to get the answers from Kagome, if she had them. She would also need to know some things about her situation. Facts which he doubted the naïve young woman or her other companions would have any knowledge of.

As they neared the tribal cavern, Kouga growled off the inquiring pack members that began surrounding them, walking purposefully toward his corner of the cave. He deposited the young, now sleeping, woman onto the soft grasses and called over a few of the lower-ranking wolf youkai to fetch her some clothing.

"Kouga…" Kagome awoke in the murky darkness of the cave, blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the light. The wolf man was at her side in a flash.

"My tribesmen are getting you something to wear, and the women will be here soon to get you cleaned up." At her nod and small but grateful smile, he settled down to sit next to her, inspecting the small abrasions on her face and arms. "Kagome…"

"Yes?"

"May I ask, how did this happen?"

The miko closed her eyes and drew up her legs, holding them tightly with her arms. Kouga was about to back away from his question when she spoke in a soft voice. "We were at the local stream, cooling off from the heat," she began. "He'd been in a bad mood all day, and I didn't really know why. I guess I thought maybe it was the heat and the fact that Naraku's been missing for so long. I think he's been feeling pretty restless."

Kouga nodded. He'd been similarly annoyed by the evil hanyou's disappearing act, still seeking revenge for his fallen comrades.

"Anyway," she continued, "I didn't want to see him sulking so I tried to pull him into the water with us. I thought maybe if I could get him to fool around with us he might not be in such a sour mood. Instead, he took off running and I chased after him."

The wolf demon's eyes widened, as he began to piece the situation together. Did she realize…?

"He wasn't actually running that fast," Kagome recounted with some confusion in her voice, "it was like he wanted me to catch him; and sure enough, I did. I actually pounced on him, like a animal."

__

Oh how appropriate that comparison is, my love…

"I made some inappropriate comments about his pectorals," she blushed, "and next thing I know, he's whisking me off into a cave and… that's when…" She faltered, but knew Kouga could fill in the blanks. "So you see, if I hadn't chased after him, or nagged him, this wouldn't have happened."

"No," he replied firmly. "Certainly it wasn't the smartest thing to do," at her wince he mentally slapped himself, "but it may have happened eventually."

"How so?" Kagome was now listening to him intently.

"You're fertile," he answered matter-of-factly. "Any youkai within fifty feet of you can tell." She blushed, but he went on. "Older youkai males, those who are mated, and kits aren't going to be affected. However, mature young males, such as Inuyasha and," he hesitated, "myself… well we are more drawn to you. Usually only the more animalistic youkai will force themselves on a female in heat, but the more intelligent varieties have been known to do so. Still, I'm a little surprised Inuyasha did this."

"I was teasing him," she reminded him softly.

"Still," Kouga was looking into the distance, trying to sort the situation out. "He always seemed so protective of you, I'm amazed that he couldn't control himself."

"He left behind Tetsusaiga," Kagome explained. "The katana keeps his youkai blood sealed, because he's not able to control himself as well when he's in full demon form."

"That would explain it," Kouga sighed. The appearance of several wolves prompted Kouga to stand again. "Well, the women are here to clean you up. Try to get some rest and we'll figure out what to do about this in the morning."

"Arigato, Kouga-kun."

* * * * * 

Kagome awoke again to an empty cavern, still sore from the previous afternoon but feeling much cleaner. She was wearing a somewhat ratty but functional kimono that Kouga's tribeswomen had recovered from an old village.

"Ohayo, Kagome."

"Ohayo, Kouga-kun." She stretched, working out the kinks in her muscles. The hay beneath was soft but not quite as good as her sleeping bag. Or bed, for that matter. She looked back up at the wolf demon. She couldn't stay here, but she wasn't entirely eager to return to the village either. "I'm not sure what to do now," she announced silently.

"I can bring you back to your friends," he offered. "Or you can stay here with us."

"I could go home," she added silently, beginning to think that was the best course of action. Oh, what would she tell her mother?

Kouga watched the play of emotions on the girl's face, and began to regret the news he had to impart. Kagome was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the concern in his expression. "There's something you need to know."

"Yes?"

He sighed, and took her hands in his own. "You're pupped."

Kagome blinked, not certain what he was telling her. "Pupped?"

"I believe you humans call it pregnant?"

Now her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "What? No, that can't be! How can you know so soon?"

"That same scent that told me you were fertile now tells me you are carrying inukkoro's offspring." He sat down before her, taking in the slump in her shoulders. He wanted to comfort her, take away her pain. "Kagome, I know this must come as a shock to you. It will be difficult to share this news with your friends, but I will come with you if it will help. Or you can just stay here, and – and I'll raise the pup as my own. I still love you, Kagome, and if you will consent I'll take you as my mate."

Tears filled the young miko's eyes as she gazed at the kind-hearted demon before her. Could she do this? Could she stay here in this cavern and raise Inuyasha's child as a member of the wolf tribe?

"No…" She squeezed her eyes shut, willing away the tears. "Gomen, Kouga. You've been so kind to me but I can't do that. I will find another way, even if it means an abortion."

"Ab-or-tion?" The unfamiliar term sputtered out of him.

Kagome blushed, not sure how to explain the concept to him. It sickened her, actually, but she was only seventeen, and single to boot. "The healers in my time can end a pregnancy when the baby is just started."

"How?"

"I don't want to go into it," she quickly replied. "It's not a pleasant experience from what I've been told but sometimes it's necessary."

"The pup would be killed?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

Kouga's eyes were filled with horror at the idea. "Why would a mother choose to kill her own pup?"

"Well, sometimes she didn't mean to become pregnant, and can't care for the pup on her own. Or sometimes the pregnancy threatens her health, or she was raped…" she paused on this, refusing to meet Kouga's eyes. "Anyway, it's an option, but I don't think I can do that. I – I still love him."

The wolf demon sighed. He'd always known.

"Gomen…ne… but it's true. Even now, I know that wasn't really Inuyasha. That's why – that's why I can't tell him what happened."

"He's probably out looking for you, you know."

"Hai."

"He's going to wonder why you are scratched up, why he woke up in a cave surrounded by your blood and missing his haori."

"I need a story," Kagome realized.

Kouga brushed away a strand of hair from the girl's neck. "You're going to need a good one," he agreed, "because you also have to explain why you are marked."

"Marked?"

"It's like your human marriage. When a youkai takes a mate, he marks them with a small scratch or bite on their neck to warn off other potential mates."

Kagome raised a hand to the place where she could feel a slight stinging. The raised and bumpy scar confirmed Kouga's observation. What did this mean? Did Inuyasha's demon blood see her as a mate? She shook her head. Now was not the time for those questions.

"We were attacked by a demon," she began, "and since Tetsusaiga was missing he transformed into full youkai."

"After he slew the demon, you brought him to the cave to sleep off his injuries," Kouga added to the story.

Nodding, she went on, "I sprained my ankle looking for medicinal herbs when you found me, and brought me back here for safety."

"And the mark? The pup?"

Kagome stared in silence. How was she going to explain that?

"Are mine."

Kouga gazed at her intently. If she wouldn't agree to be his mate, she could pretend. Perhaps over time she might even come to love him and become his in reality. He could only hope.

"Inuyasha will be furious," she whispered.

"Would you rather tell him what he did to you?"

"Iie."

"He still needs you to find the shikon shards, ne?"

"Hai."

"He will be very angry, but it seems you don't have much of a choice. Kagome," Kouga lifted her chin to look into her eyes again, "I will be here for you, in any way you need me to be. You can tell Inuyasha that we mated, and if he casts you aside then I will be there for you. If not, then you may continue to travel with him and deal with the rest when the time comes. And my offer stands: if you wish it, I will take you to be my mate."

Kagome considered her situation for the hundredth time and finally nodded. This was the only way she could see. "All right. I will tell him that you are my mate."

"Then that's settled. We'll get some food into you – you must take good care of your health with the pup inside of you – and then we'll bring you back to that miko's hut."

"Arigato, Kouga-kun."

"Anything for you, Kagome." With that, he left the girl to brush herself off and fetch their breakfast.


	3. Lies, Lies and More Lies

See chapter one for disclaimers.

****

Chapter Three.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango ran up to her friend as Kouga set her down on the ground. She appeared rather battered and bruised, but more worrying was the dull fear in her eyes. "Kouga, what happened to Kagome-chan?"

The wolf shook his head. "I'm not the messenger, that's her story to tell."

"Thank you, Kouga-kun." Kagome returned Sango's embrace lightly, flinching when the taijiya pressed on her bruised back. "I need a bath. I'll tell you then, okay?"  


"Hai, I'll go get your soaps."

"Kagome-sama, we've been so worried!" Miroku appeared from Kaede's hut, Shippou perched on his shoulder.

The small kitsune leapt toward the young miko, only to be stopped in mid-air by Sango. "Kagome's been hurt and she needs some time to calm down. Why don't you go back inside and help Kaede make up some salve."

Shippou pouted, but agreed, allowing her to lower him to the ground. As she passed Miroku, Sango whispered, "I'll find out and let you know. Just let it drop." The monk nodded his agreement, his eyes never leaving the girl who stood distraught before him.

"Oi, Sango, should I go after Inuyasha to tell him she's returned?"

"Iie, he'll find out soon enough. I have a feeling Kagome needs to be left alone for a bit. Something tells me Inuyasha's presence wouldn't be the best thing for her right now."

Nodding again, Miroku sent a fake smile to the miko. "Glad you're back, Kagome. Thank you for bringing her to us, Kouga."

The wolf demon gave a curt nod in the monk's direction before turning again to Kagome. "Shall I stay here?"

Kagome bit her lip in thought. She really wanted to talk to the women alone, but when Inuyasha came… she shivered. She would need Kouga's support, especially if she wanted to convince Inuyasha of the story. "If you can, I would appreciate it," she finally answered.

"No problem," Kouga smiled. "I'll go chat with the monk for a while, he amuses me."

Kagome laughed a bit, the first genuine smile to grace her face since the incident. "Just stay out of trouble and I'll be happy."

"Kagome-chan!" Sango beckoned to her from the tree line, bath supplies in hand. "I'm ready!"

  
Giving Kouga a quick squeeze of the hand, Kagome ran after her.

* * * * *

Sango watched Kagome strip carefully out of the tattered kimono she'd been wearing. The scrapes that graced her arms and face covered her back and thighs as well. The taijiya felt a knot in her stomach as she imagined the horrors that befell her friend. Kagome slipped into the water, wincing as it hit some of her larger sores, but finally she rested up against a boulder and allowed her eyes to slip closed. She didn't speak a word.

"Kagome—"

"Sango—"

They laughed lightly, but quickly fell back into solemnity. Kagome sighed and spoke again. "I know you're wondering what happened, and I'll tell you but before I do, I need you to promise me that this is between just the two of us."

"You don't want Inuyasha to know?"

"No, and not Miroku, either. He might slip, or even go out for vengeance himself. Promise me?" She opened her eyes again, staring intently at her demon exterminator companion.

"I promise."

Sighing again, Kagome pondered her words. She couldn't tell Sango the complete truth. Even though she was one of her best friends, the young woman would likely have a serious reaction to Inuyasha's misdeed and Kagome didn't want to hear her protests. No, she'd have to give Sango a half-truth. However, the taijiya was not foolish enough to believe she would give herself to Kouga. So that part would remain intact.

"I'm sure you already pieced together that I was raped."

Biting her lip, Sango nodded.

"It happened in the woods after I ran off after Inuyasha. I was raped by a demon, and then Inuyasha came back looking for me. He didn't have Tetsusaiga with him, so he became full demon himself."

"He saw your rape?"

"No," Kagome answered, smirking at how close to the truth that was. "He came just after the fact, and the demon attacked him so quickly that he transformed almost immediately."

"Did he manage to kill the demon?"

"Um, yes." Kagome's cheeks heated as she realized how weak her answer was. Clearing her throat, she quickly went on, "anyway, after the battle he was coming back to himself but he still wasn't really all there, so I brought him back to a cave and went out looking for herbs to heal his wounds."

"When did Kouga come in?"

"Right after I left the cave. I sprained my ankle and he rushed me off to his mountain to get me some proper clothing and so that I could wash up."

"That was kind of him, but… he really should have brought you back to us. We were all very worried last night when neither of you came back. We were relieved thinking at least you were with Inuyasha, but then he came back this morning alone and none of us knew what to think!"

"Was he…worried about me?"  


"Of course!" Sango shot a look of surprise at the young miko. How could she doubt his concern for her? "He didn't remember what had happened, only woke up in a strange place to find your bathing suit torn beside him, your blood on his body, and you missing. He thought he'd killed you or something, but we managed to convince him that it was unlikely. He's been out since dawn searching for you."

"He'll be back soon," Kagome spoke to her self silently.

"Yes, and he'll want some answers."

"There's more," Kagome weakly continued. "You see, according to Kouga, I'm pregnant."

"WHAT?!"

"Shh!" Kagome glanced around the clearing, praying that Inuyasha was still far enough away from their location to continue her story. "He said I was fertile, and so the rape impregnated me. So um… he offered to take me as his mate."

Sango stared at the young woman in shock. "And you said…?"  


"No, of course. Still, I didn't know what to tell Inuyasha. If he found out I was raped, he'd never forgive himself. You know how seriously he takes his duties as protector."

"Hai," Sango agreed solemnly. "But I think he will notice when your stomach starts to swell. Also, he's half-demon himself, so your body is likely giving off a scent."

"I know, which is why Kouga and I agreed to tell him we mated."  


"Please tell me you're kidding, Kagome."  


"I'm not." She held up a hand to halt Sango's protest. "I can't let him know what happened. Please, just accept that. I decided it would be better for him to believe I gave myself to Kouga willingly. Maybe later, when more time has passed, I can tell him the truth. But for now, I need you to play along with this. The only reason I'm telling you is because I trust you to keep my secret."

She was lying. Sango could tell Kagome was bending the truth, but she didn't know why. Yes, Inuyasha would blame himself for her condition, but he'd get over it; it would be far more important to him to keep her safe in the present. So why did she insist on this silly farce?

Frowning, Sango nodded. "All right, I'll play along, but don't ask me to lie along with you. All I will do is agree with what you say."

"That's enough for me, Sango. Thank you." Kagome reached for her soap and began to scrub down, vigorously removing any hint of the previous night from her aching body. "We should hurry and get back to camp. I'm guessing Inuyasha will be back soon."

* * * * *

Sure enough, the hanyou made it to camp almost immediately before the two women returned. Kouga had to fight his instinct to run to her side and protect her from her rapist, especially when she visibly flinched at his approach.

"Where have you been, wench? I went looking all over for you and here you are clean and happy and relaxed?" His eyes narrowed in annoyance to conceal the immense relief buried beneath.

"I- I'm glad you're ok, Inuyasha. After that demon attacked you I was worried you might die."

He stood back, eyes widening. "So it was a demon attack, then? I only remember you chasing me and from there my memories stop until I woke up this morning in that damned cave."

She nodded firmly, sparing a sidelong glance at Sango for support. "Hai, and since Tetsusaiga was missing…"

Inuyasha blanched. "I – I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Kouga huffed, earning a glare from Kagome which silenced him immediately.

"No, you passed out almost right after killing the demon. I had just enough time to bring you to that cave. Then I went searching for herbs to clean your wounds when I… twisted my ankle."

"Baka, you shouldn't have gone out alone in that condition." He stopped his tirade for a moment, his mind recalling the environment in which he'd awoken. "Wait, your bathing suit was in the cave."

"I know, the demon managed to tear it up so I used your haori." Kagome walked past him and gathered up the cloak from a rock, handing it to him. "I hope you don't mind."

He sniffed at the garment, his eyes narrowing. "This smells like wimpy wolf." Inuyasha turned away from Kagome to glare daggers at the demon. "Which brings me to my next question. What is HE doing here?"

Miroku stepped in, hoping to diffuse the tension. "Kouga found Kagome last night and brought her back this morning."

"Selfish bastard, you should have brought her back here when you found her."

"She was injured and tired, inukkoro," Kouga shot back angrily. "I wanted to make sure she was cleaned up and rested. Some of us have a little more common sense than others."

The two youkai continued to stare at each other, growling in low tones. Kagome knew she had to break up the stalemate, but wasn't eager to tell him the rest of her news. Then again, he would find out sooner or later.

"Inuyasha, please stop growling at Kouga." When he shot her an annoyed look, she took a deep breath and explained herself. "You see, Kouga is… my mate."


	4. A Mother's Comfort

Author's Notes (chapter follows):

There's a lot of concern about the darkness of this fic, Kagome's reaction, and some OOC-ness. Let me attempt to answer a few of these questions and give some explanations before I continue.

1. Inuyasha is a rapist? Yes, in that he did force sex on Kagome. However, rape is usually about power, and sex is simply the means of asserting it. In my mind, Inuyasha the demon genuinely believed he was acting in their mutual interest by taking her. As such, he was likely as gentle as he could be, exerting only as much force as necessary to accomplish his instinctive goal. So yes, it was a horrible experience but not something full of mutilation and torture.

2. Kagome sure got over that fast, ne? Not really. She's not over it. She had a few moments after it happened to gather her wits, that's step one. Step two, she had some time to cry over it, before Kouga found her. She has already decided it wasn't entirely Inuyasha's fault, and so she's falling into the trap of many rape victims – blaming herself. So for now, she's just trying to put the pieces together. Eventually she will have to deal with her emotions more thoroughly and I will try to cover that as well.

3. Why all the lies? And won't Inuyasha realize it's his own kid? The lies are her misguided efforts to protect her attacker. She's not ready to have her friends exacting vengeance on him, since she blames herself. Kouga is taking advantage of this in hopes that he can endear himself to her. That won't work, as you will later see. **This is definitely going to be an Inuyasha/Kagome piece.** I just haven't finalized all the plot details.

As far as his recognizing the pup as his own: Inuyasha is portrayed in the anime as being more than a little brash and irrational at times, right? And unless I missed something, the extent of his sensitivity to smell is mostly fan-accepted, but not canon. I've decided that he can't smell the pup until it's been born, so all he can sense to go on is the fact that she is definitely no longer a virgin and she reeks of Kouga. Remember, she's bathed twice already.

Okay, on we go!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

****

Chapter Four.

"Kouga is… my mate."

The entire group fell oddly silent at her admission. Sango watched the life drain from Inuyasha's expression, and felt more than a little sympathy for the hanyou. Miroku's eyes widened in shock. Kouga had neglected to mention that little detail in their conversation… The wolf demon was simply holding his breath, waiting for the inevitable outburst and preparing to defend Kagome from Inuyasha's wrath.

"What did you say?" The strained whisper in which the inuhanyou spoke unnerved Kagome more than any other reaction he could have supplied.

She repeated herself, her voice wavering. "Kouga and I are mated."

Ah, yes. Kouga almost grinned. Now it would begin.

As though the situation weren't full of enough unexpected twists, Inuyasha threw them one last curve. Without another word, he turned –

-- and walked away.

* * * * *

The foursome watched the retreating red figure in continued silence for a while, each absorbed in his own thoughts. At last, Kouga broke the silence.

"Well, Kagome my love, I guess you have your answer. Shall we return to the mountain?"

Kagome ignored him, turning to Sango. "I should go talk to him."

The taijiya shook her head firmly. "No, Kagome-chan, I think it would be best if you leave him be for a while. He needs to let this sink in." She studied the young woman for a moment before adding silently, "unless you are ready to give up this charade and tell him the truth?"

"Iie." She sighed, and turned back to Kouga. "I'm staying here unless he asks me to leave. Thank you, Kouga, for helping me. You really should return to your pack now."

"I don't trust him," Kouga growled. "I think you'd be safer with me."

Miroku glanced from the young miko to her youkai mate. "Ne, Kagome, why are you sending your husband away?"

Kami, she'd forgotten the monk was there. Turning to Miroku, she pasted a smile on her face. "I have a duty to fulfill here, Miroku-sama. Kouga and I agreed that I would finish our quest first, and then I will go with him."

"Yes, especially since the females in my tribe have no experience with human birthing."

"Birthing?" Now it was Miroku who blanched. Kagome shot an angry glare at the wolf demon. She'd hoped to let the monk in on this piece of news later, but it seemed Kouga was eager to put it all out there here and now.

She sighed. "Yes, Miroku-sama. I am pregnant."

"Kagome-sama, are you sure that was wise? If you indeed wish to continue hunting for jewel shards…"

"It wasn't intentional," she answered him, her voice demure. "Anyway, it's too late to think about it now. I'll do the best I can until I can't travel anymore and then… well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sango came up to the girl, wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Kouga, we will take good care of Kagome-chan, you needn't worry." At her pointed stare, he finally took the hint and nodded.

"All right, koibito," he smiled a genuine grin at Kagome, taking her hand in his own to squeeze it lovingly. "I will return to check on you in a few days. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Hai, I do. Sayonara, Kouga-kun."

With a last wistful glance, the wolf demon took off toward his mountain, praying to the gods that the wench would eventually gather her senses and come to him. After all, he was the prince of the wolf youkai. What more could she ask for than to become his cherished mate? He huffed at the annoyance. Hai, eventually she would return to him, it was just a matter of time.

* * * * *

"I want to explain to him before I go," Kagome was speaking softly to no one in particular as she walked toward the Bone Eater's Well. Miroku carried her backpack, already coddling her as though she were twenty-four weeks instead of twenty-four hours into the pregnancy.

"He'll be gone for at least the night," Sango assured her as they finally reached the well. "If by some miracle he returns sooner, we'll do our best to keep him here and calm until you return, okay?"

Sighing, Kagome nodded. "I do need to speak to my mother," she agreed. "All right, I'll return tomorrow afternoon. Please, try to explain to Shippou? I don't think I can tell the story again and I'm not even certain what to say."

Miroku agreed to have a man-to-man chat with the kitsune, though Sango swore to herself to intercept the exchange, lest he turn it into a lesson in lechery. With a last grateful smile to her friends, Kagome eased herself into the well, falling into the accustomed darkness of the time-warp.

Seconds later she was greeted by the comforting familiarity of large-city pollution as she landed in the well of her time. Hefting herself over the edge Kagome walked with shaking legs toward her house. For a moment, she entertained the idea of sneaking into her bedroom by Inuyasha's normal route, and avoiding the painful discussion altogether.

__

Ha, as though Mama won't notice my large belly in four months. She smirked in self-deprecating humor at the idea of hiding the pregnancy under baggy shirts. Still, this was the first time she'd been left alone since Kouga had found her, and the sudden lack of companionship had the unwelcome effect of allowing all her pent-up emotions to come flooding back all at once. The tears sprang into her eyes just as she reached the kitchen door.

The gods were ruthless, she decided. Mama was right there in the kitchen when she entered.

"Kagome, you're back. Ka—Kagome?"

The young woman dropped her backpack as she stared straight ahead. She couldn't hold it together anymore. She tried, but…

"OH MOM!"

Higurashi-san was nearly toppled over when her seventeen-year-old time-traveling daughter threw herself in her arms, falling to her knees in the middle of the kitchen floor. 

"Doushita?" The woman slowly began to stroke Kagome's hair, her mind running through all the terrible things that could have happened to bring on this emotional display. When the young woman passed up answering to continue sobbing, she leaned down to pull her to her feet. "Come into the living room, honey. I'll get you a cup of tea and you can tell me all about it."

Through her tears, Kagome managed a nod and followed her mother to the couch, coming to sit down with a little help. It wasn't until she was safely situated and Mrs. Higurashi stood back that the elder woman finally noticed the various abrasions and bruises marring her daughter's normally perfect complexion. Continuing her silent scrutiny, she wondered just how many more existed under the knit top and blue jeans Kagome wore.

Higurashi-san shook this thought from her head, rushing to the kitchen to grab a cup of tea and a small washcloth before returning to sit next to her daughter. "Here you go, honey."

Kagome accepted the small cup, bringing it up to sip with shaking hands. "Ari-arigat-tou m-mama."

"You were violated."

The young woman's eyes widened beneath her bangs and she quickly turned to face her mother. Seeing the look of pained understanding, she nodded slowly.

"Who?"

"Inuyasha." She'd whispered it so softly she was amazed she'd heard herself. Nonetheless, Higurashi-san understood as well as if she'd screamed the name.

"Jii-san!"

"Mama!" Kagome's sad eyes took on a look of horror. "Don't call grandfather!"

"We're going to seal that well right now."

"No!" Kagome almost dropped the tea in her haste to fasten her hands onto her mother's arms. "Please, don't do that!"

"But honey—"

"He didn't mean to do it, Mama. I'm sure of it."

Sighing, Higurashi-san lifted a hand to brush the hair from her daughter's forehead, peering into her frantic eyes. "Honey, you don't have to make excuses for him. After the well is sealed you'll be perfectly safe. We'll get you into some therapy and you can put this entire mess behind you, okay?"

"No, mama, you don't understand. I—I'm pregnant."

That was unexpected, to say the least. Certainly, it was possible, but on her first time? The chances…

Kagome seemed to read her mother's mind, and forced herself back into a state of semi-calm so she could explain the events. Her mother would get the truth, she decided. She needed someone other than Kouga to know the real story. Perhaps she would tell Kaede too, but that was another matter…

"Mama, let me explain."

"Yes, dear, please do."

Taking another deep breath, she sighed. "Okay, you know how Inuyasha and demons like him have sensitive noses, right?" At her mother's nod, she went on, "well what I didn't realize until today was that they can pick up changes in the way a woman smells when she's um… fertile." She hazarded another look at her mother, but found nothing in the woman's expression. "Well if I'd been a little less naïve, I would have realized that and behaved more like a lady. Instead, I ignored his grumpy mood, and I… I chased after him like a crazy woman. I even jumped on top of him, for Kami's sake. I didn't mean anything sexual by it, I swear. Well, maybe somewhere in the back of my mind, but it wasn't meant as an invitation."

"Of course not, and he shouldn't have taken it as one either," Higurashi-san felt the anger well up in her again, wondering how the sweet – if not a little unpolished – young man she'd oft met could have hurt her baby.

"Normally he wouldn't," Kagome rushed to assure her.

"So what was different this time?"

"Well, I was wearing a bathing suit, making inappropriate comments, and what I didn't notice at the time was that Inuyasha wasn't carrying his katana."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Her daughter's endless string of self-accusations were making her angrier than anything the young man might have done to her.

Kagome closed her eyes, mentally berating herself for not being more vigilant. _All right, Kagome. Too late to worry about that._ "It keeps his demon blood sealed so he can control his impulses. When I chased after him, he'd left it on the lake shore and I guess the combination of my actions, the scent coming off of me, and the lack of his sword made him lose control."

"You were a very foolish young woman," Higurashi-san finally agreed. "However, that doesn't make it your fault."

"I know, Mama, I know. I'm not saying it was exactly. Just that, it wasn't really his fault either." Images of the assult came rushing back into her mind like a movie and she blinked hard against them, feeling her control slip away. "It wasn't quite as bad as it could have been," she feebly argued. "I think he honestly believed I wanted it, because he only pushed hard enough to get inside and he—he even kissed me."

"Did you want it?"

"No! Well, not like that," she finally admitted. "I guess part of me did when I was chasing him, but I wasn't going to act on it."

"Hormones are a dangerous thing to let loose around a demon, ne?"

Kagome nodded, eyes downcast. "I should have controlled myself better, Mama. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, dear. Your troubles are only beginning." Higurashi-san sighed at her choice of words, chastising herself for making her violated daughter feel that much worse. "What I mean is, didn't you say you were pregnant?"  


Again nodding, the miko let a hand drift to her lower abdomen for the first time since she'd heard the news herself. "Kouga told me he could sense the pup."

"Pup?"  


Kagome sniffed a little laugh. "That's what canine demons call their children."

"Well Kagome. What would you like to do about this?"

"I—I'm not entirely sure."

"You know how I feel about abortion, but you're the one with the baby, so it's your decision to make. We could try adoption, but if the baby comes out with ears—"  


"I won't abort Inuyasha's baby," Kagome stated firmly. "He didn't do this to hurt me, I'm sure of it. And Mama… he doesn't know."  


"What do you mean?"

"When he's in full demon form, he's acting purely on instinct. After he wakes up, he doesn't remember anything that happened while he was out of control. I told him that we were attacked by a demon, he doesn't even know I was raped."

Higurashi-san's eyebrow raised to the roof. "So how do you plan to explain the big belly?"

"I told him that I mated—er—married Kouga-kun."

"Oi, Kagome…" 

Watching her mother rest her forehead in her hands, Kagome blushed. "If he found out the truth, he'd hate himself, Mama. I don't want to put him through that."

"So what, you're going to go live with Kouga?"

"No. If Inuyasha will keep me around, I'll continue hunting shards with them."

"Pregnant?"  


"Until I can't anymore, hai."

"This is completely insane, honey."

Kagome sighed. "I know."

* * * * * * 

A/N : I promise the constant re-telling will end soon!

Vocab:

doushita = what's wrong?


	5. Inuyasha? Osuwari!

I want to take a second to explain my writing methods, as I feel it needs to be said. I don't generally write to receive reviews, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't look forward to them and use them as motivation. This story seems to be generating less interest than Courtship, which I think has to do with the angsty start. When I create a story, I dream up the resolution scene (happy ending) first. Then I create a scenario that will lead up to that ending, trying to make it as plausible as I can. Often, I set up a sad or troublesome situation which requires the characters to go through some pain, because I feel it makes the happy ending that much more rewarding. 

This is the last chapter to have mostly angst and seriousness for a while. After this there will be some minor fluff spread throughout the story. Unlike Courtship, which was a story about showing love, this one won't have any dramatic romance until the end. Sorry, but that's just the way it's going to have to be. However, I did promise this to be an Inu/Kag fic and it will be. Please have faith, and keep reading!

****

Chapter Five.

The sun was already up in the sky when Kagome opened her eyes the next morning. She groaned, looking at her alarm clock, and then sighed. Eight o' clock. Time to go and face the music. Rolling out of bed she almost stepped onto Buyo, prompting an annoyed hiss from the fat feline. 

"Sorry Buyo. You really should find a better place to nap." She quickly dressed herself in some of her more conservative clothing, ignoring the heat she knew would greet her outside the walls of her home. She was vaguely aware that it was her mind's way of protecting herself from future rape, even though she knew she had nothing to fear from Inuyasha. After all, she reminded herself, she knew better than to go pouncing on a horny demon ever again.

Coming downstairs to the kitchen, Kagome greeted her brother with a tousle of his hair, which annoyed the little boy immensely.

"Sit down, honey, breakfast is almost ready."  


"I'm not hungry, Mama. Just going to grab some ramen and head out."

Higurashi-san sent her daughter an icy stare, giving Kagome pause. "Sit down, young lady. You have two bodies to worry about now."

Souta glanced from his mother to Kagome, chopstick in his mouth. "Two bodies?"

"Souta dear, why don't you go eat in the living room today? Kagome and I have some women's things to discuss." The boy needed no further encouragement, quickly scooping up his bowl and tea cup to rush into the other room. "No running in the house!" Higurasha-san called after him as she came to sit before Kagome, placing a bowl piled with food in front of the girl.

"I know you are eager to get back, and I'm not going to stop you. We already discussed your plans and I have agreed to help you. However, I will not let you continue to be so reckless with your health."

Kagome dropped her head in shame. Her mother was right. She had to grow up if she was to pull through this situation, and she had to do it fast. Looking up again, she smiled at her mother and began to eat her breakfast.

"That's a good girl," her mother praised her. "Now then, before I forget, I had the pharmacy drop off a selection of vitamins for you to bring back with you." She deposited a small yellow bag in front of Kagome, and began going through its contents. "This one is folic acid, which really is more helpful before you conceive but I figured better late than never. This larger bottle is a calcium supplement. It's not really necessary just yet, but the doctor suggested you might as well get started on them now. And Kagome, try to stay away from caffeine, it just counteracts the calcium."

Kagome nodded, suddenly finding her appetite and barely listening to her mother's words. Higurashi-san seemed to recognize this, and frowned.

"Kagome, this is very important. If you were going to stay here, I would keep track of this stuff for you but you've decided to go back –"  


"You agreed," Kagome replied, deadpan.

"Yes, I did. It would be difficult to explain your condition, and for that reason alone I am allowing you to return. However, I still expect you to return to visit as you promised." Taking her daughter's hand in her own, she softened her features. "The circumstances are awful, and the timing less than ideal, but that is still my grandchild you carry. I want you both to be safe and healthy. Please, Kagome, try to take this seriously."

Focusing all her attention on her mother, Kagome spoke in an even tone. "Believe me, Mama, no one takes this more seriously than I do. No one."

Accepting her daughter's words, Higurashi-san dropped her hand and replaced the bottles into the bag. "They all have directions on the back," she finally sighed. "Just remember to take them faithfully and I guess you'll be ok. Oh, and before I forget –" she reached over the table to a pile of books, pulling one from the top, "I had my friend, Noriko, bring over this book from her last pregnancy. It's full of advice for the various stages and symptoms. Might help you to read through it when you have time."

"Arigato, Mama. Please thank Noriko-san for me." She quickly finished off the last of her breakfast and stood up again. "Now I really do have to go, Mama. I'll be back for that first exam on Friday."

"Eleven o'clock," her mother confirmed. Walking up to her daughter, she sighed. "Take care of yourself, Kagome." She hugged her, and was glad to feel some of the life return to her little girl when she hugged back.

"I love you, Mama. Thank you so much for understanding."

"You're my baby," she answered, tears she'd been hiding shimmering in her eyes. "How can I not be there for you?"

With one last squeeze, Kagome backed up and grabbed her backpack, the vitamins, and the book and walked out the door.

* * * * *

He could smell her the instant she appeared in the well, even before she tossed her ridiculously over-stuffed yellow pack out of the well. Gathering up his courage, Inuyasha hopped down from his watchpoint and approached the well, arms crossed into his haori.

"So you came back, wench."

Kagome yelped in surprise, losing her grip on the well and nearly falling back into it. Inuyasha's firm hand grasped her own, pulling her out of the shaft and onto the grass where he let her fall into a heap of limbs. "I… I didn't expect you to meet me."

"I wasn't planning on it," he responded without emotion. "In fact, I wasn't going to ever look at you again," he added with a hint of loathing. As the young woman pulled herself back up to sit on the edge of the well, he forced himself to calm down. This was still Kagome, and whatever she had done, he'd made a promise. "Sango convinced me to give you a chance to explain. She also told me about the pup."

Kagome didn't know if she should be relieved or annoyed. She chose the former, as he seemed relatively calm about the situation. She hadn't been relishing the conversation, or the sits she'd expected to give him for restraint.

"It's true," she began. "When I was out looking for herbs to heal you with, and Kouga found me, I went back with him to his pack and that's when it happened."

"Just like that, you decided to become his mate, have a pup, Naraku and the tama be damned, huh?"

"Not quite like that," she huffed, suddenly feeling very angry with the hanyou glaring down at her. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I guess I was just…" she paused, not having expected their conversation to take this turn. She'd figured he'd want facts about when and who, not why. "I was scared," she answered truthfully, "and he was there."

"I never imagined you to be so loose, Kagome."

That did it. Who was he to call her loose?

"I'll have you know it wasn't my idea to get knocked up!"

"Oh, so what, did he force himself on you?"

"What if he did?"

Inuyasha's eyes blazed and he leaned in closer. "Did he?"

"Answer my question first, dammit!"

"I'd kill him, that's what. Now answer mine."  


__

No, YOU raped me you baka! Her mind screamed at her, but she held her tongue choosing instead to hold his glare. "He didn't force me."

"And he marked you, apparently, so now you are his for life." He snorted, "but of course that wimpy wolf wasn't enough of a man to protect his own mate, so he leaves you behind for me to take care of. If it wasn't so pathetic I'd laugh."

"What's it to you?" she shot back. "It's not like you staked any claim."

Inuyasha opened his mouth with a ready retort, but held back. "No, and it's a good thing too. I don't need a female who's so weak she jumps into the arms of the first man who rescues her." An ear twitched as he considered his own words. "Though come to think of it, I'm the one who rescued you. He just got you some clothes and a good night's sleep. Ungrateful wench. I knew that wolf was trouble the first time we met him."

"Are you going to let me stay with you or not?" Kagome shouted him out of his thoughts.

"I'm inclined to push you back down that well and have Miroku seal it off," he sneered at her, enjoying the panic in her eyes while simultaneously wondering why it seemed to bother her so much. "But unfortunately, I still need a shard detector and since Kikyou doesn't seem to inclined to do the job," again he entertained himself with her obvious pain, ignoring the stab in his heart the sight caused, "I've decided to let you keep tagging along."

"Fine. Then let's get going."

"One thing, though, wench." He grabbed her arm, noticing the way she stiffened at his touch and putting the curiosity aside for later pondering, "It's your pup, and not my responsibility. If Sango and Miroku want to pamper you, that's their business. I'm having none of it. The first time that whelp gets in my way, you're on your own."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at his tone, wrenching her wrist from his grasp. "Fine. Can we go now?"

"Feh."

Taking that as a yes, the miko stalked toward the village, backpack slung over her shoulder again. She could feel the heat of her anger coming off herself in waves. It wouldn't be good for the baby, even if the thing was still just a small ball of cellular matter. She needed to vent her frustrations and could think of no better way…

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"SIT."

* * * * *

A/N: This is, I believe, the only time I've ever had Kagome actually sit Inuyasha in a story of mine. She's threatened it, and wished it, but never done it. Just a little factoid for my loyal readers :-)


	6. Talking It Out

Okay, this chapter is a little dry, perhaps because I wrote it at 4:00 in the morning. It does give some insight into Inuyasha's feelings on the whole matter, and hopefully redeems him a bit. It also serves the purpose of further confusing Kagome's lies and plans, which I assure you is intentional. This isn't supposed to be clean-cut and neat.

I want to thank my reviewers as well. I tend to forget to mention you all but your words, advice, and suggestions all mean a lot to me so arigato, minna :-)

****

Chapter Six.

Kaede was beyond shocked at the situation, but had promised the young woman her silence. Kami, even the rosary hadn't been able to protect her! "Are ye sure ye don't want to stay inside tonight, Kagome?"

Staring out the door at her companions gathering their camping supplies, she sighed. The small hut was too cramped for them all to sleep inside during the hot summer months. As a group they often spent the warmer nights sleeping under the stars nearby, giving the old woman her peace and quiet.

"No, it's okay, Kaede-sama. Sango is there, as are Miroku and Shippou."

"All right, Kagome. I'm not really sure what I can do for ye, child, as your medicine is surely far stronger than mine own. But if ye should need anything at all, please ask me."  


"Thank you, Kaede. You have no idea how much this means to me."

They bowed to each other, and then Kagome left the hut to join her friends. Miroku rushed to grab her backpack, which resulted in a warm smile from Sango. If he played his cards right, maybe Kagome wouldn't be the only one with child in the near future. 

As if sensing his thoughts, Sango's smile turned into a frown. "Don't even think about it, houshi-sama."

"Are you guys coming, or what?" Inuyasha yelled over his shoulder at the trio behind him, a large blanket slung over his shoulder. Miroku ran up beside him, eager to avoid Sango's ruthless glares.

He'd heard the hanyou's and miko's conversation at the well earlier that day, and was more than a little annoyed with the half-demon for upsetting the young woman. "Inuyasha, you really must try to contain that temper of yours."

"Never bothered you before, Bouzu."

"She's in a delicate situation now."

"Not my fault," he shot back carelessly.

Rolling his eyes, Miroku grabbed his arm to gain the young man's attention. "I know you're upset that you lost her to Kouga, and I don't blame you one bit for feeling betrayed. Still, she has remained faithful to the cause, and you did agree to let her stay."

"Yeah, well I also said that I wasn't going to let her problem become my own, and she agreed to that, too."

"Can you honestly stop caring about her that easily?"

Inuyasha growled back at the monk. "Mind your own business, if you know what's good for you."

Ignoring the threat in the hope of resolving tensions, he pushed on, "maybe now you know what it felt like for her."

"What the hell are you babbling about?"

"She loved you for most of the last two years, and you kept going back to Kikyou. Even as recently as last week you sped off on some rumor that she was in danger, remember?"

"You were all safe," Inuyasha defended himself, his earlier mask of indifference slipping.

"Do you think that mattered to Kagome-sama? She loves you—"

"She loves Kouga," he corrected the monk.

"No, Inuyasha. I can see the way she looks at you. I'm as confused about this as you are, but she looks at you very differently from how she looks at Kouga. I don't know what happened between them, but she doesn't care for the wolf youkai the same way she does you."

"Well she has a hell of a way of showing it," he grumbled to himself. They'd reached their campsite for the night, stopping to let the women catch up. "Look, just drop it, okay? She made her choice and I'm putting up with it the best I can. So leave me the hell alone."

Seeing no way to win this battle, Miroku closed his eyes and tried to calm his nerves. The next several months were bound to test his spiritual patience. He'd no doubt have to take extra time for meditation to get through it. Watching the young woman lay out her sleeping bag, the monk considered teaching her a few relaxation techniques. She'd need them if she had any hope of birthing a healthy baby in all this anxiety.

"I brought some ramen," Kagome announced quietly, her words meant for Inuyasha though she couldn't bring herself to look at him. He huffed, coming to sit beside the fire he'd quickly built up.

"Let me take care of that for you, Kagome-chan," Sango offered with a smile. She took the small packages from Kagome's bag, arranging them in a row and filling her small cooking pot with water from her bottle. "Shippou, can you please go and fill up the empty bottles for me?"

The kit bounced from his perch on a nearby boulder, grabbing up the empty plastic containers and rushing off for the village's watering hole. 

"Sango, may I please have the rest of your water? I have to take some vitamins."

The taijiya looked at the bottle in her hands, and her face fell. "Gomen, Kagome, but I don't think there's enough in here."

"It's okay, I'll just go after Shippou," the girl replied.

"If you can wait a moment, I'll go with you."

Kagome nodded, and waited patiently while Sango took the now boiling pot from the flames and poured water into each of the cups of ramen. She passed two each to the men and set aside the remaining three for herself, Kagome, and Shippou. 

"We'll be right back," she spoke softly, taking Kagome by the hand and fairly dragging her from camp. This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for all day. When they were out of the hanyou's hearing range, she turned to face Kagome, a serious look in her eyes. "Are you sure you still want to keep up with this? You should have seen how utterly depressed Inuyasha looked when he found out you were pregnant."

"He was upset enough when I told him I was Kouga's mate, why should that have mattered any?"

Sango wanted to shake the girl, hoping to knock some sense into her. "He was probably hoping he could fight Kouga for you. It's rare, but according to youkai tradition a male may challenge another's claim for a female until she is impregnated. My guess is he ran off yesterday to decide if he was ready for that commitment. When he came back from brooding, he almost seemed back to his usual over-confident self."

"You think he'd decided to fight for me?"  


"I'm almost certain of it."

"Then why did you tell him I was pregnant?"

"I didn't, Miroku did. Stupid houshi blabbed it out before I could stop him."

This was getting more and more complex by the day, Kagome lamented. She didn't know what she wanted anymore, aside from the obvious: for things to go back to the way they were. Unfortunately, that was simply not possible.

"Kagome-chan, if you tell him now, it's not too late. Yes, he'll be upset that you lied to him, and yes, he'll feel rotten for not protecting you better, but at least he'll have some hope again. In fact, this little scare might be the push he needs to show you his true feelings."

Kagome was almost ready to agree with her. That is, until Sango spoke her next words.

"After all, it's not like he's the one who did it."

Indeed, Kagome sighed. Why did things have to be so difficult?

"I can't, Sango. I'm sorry, I know you don't understand but I just can't tell him the truth. Believe me, it's better this way."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me something?"

The young woman's stomach twisted at the distrust in her best friend's voice. Only two days and already the situation was falling apart. How was she going to keep this up for nine months?

"Sango-chan, I promise I told you everything you need to know," she answered, forcing herself to look directly into the taijiya's eyes. She hated herself for the deception, but it was too late to go back now.

"All right. I'm sorry I doubted you, and I'll drop it. Just please, Kagome-chan…"

"Yes?"

"If the chance comes up to fix this, and tell him the truth, will you?"

"I can't promise anything, Sango-chan. I'm sorry."

Accepting defeat, Sango sighed and picked up her pace, finally reaching the stream where Shippou had just finished filling up his myriad bottles. 

"Need some help carrying all that?" Kagome laughed at the fox kit's attempt to balance two bottles on his head while carrying another three.

Shaking his head fervently, and losing the two bottles in the process, Shippou beamed up at her. "Nope, I can do it all by myself," he answered her proudly. "I'm going to help take care of you just like everyone else."

Kagome's heart filled at the little demon's words and a smile brightened her face once again. It was nice to be so loved.

* * * * *

Silence had fallen over the camp when Inuyasha took a chance on hopping down from his tree branch. The soft sounds of snoring from Kagome's sleeping bag told him she was deep asleep. Sango, too, breathed in even tones. The hanyou focused last on Miroku, who slumped over against another tree, his staff in hand.

"Oi, Miroku, you awake?" he whispered harshly.

"I am now," the monk grumbled.

"Do you think it's my fault?"

"Nani?" A single eye opened and peered up at the hanyou who'd come to lean down before him.

"You know what I mean," Inuyasha shot back gruffly.

"No, Inuyasha, I don't. Can I please go back to sleep?"

Grunting, the hanyou plopped down to sit before Miroku and leaned closer. "Do you think she went with Kouga because I ran after Kikyou that day?"

__

Not this again, Miroku grumbled inwardly. Couldn't he have chosen a better time?

"Who knows?" he finally answered, praying he'd be left in peace if he cooperated. "I'm sure it didn't help."

"Baka wench. After Hakudoshi tried to break her soul, I promised her I'd never let anything happen to her again. Didn't she understand what I meant?"

"Obviously not," the monk replied, half-asleep again. To his relief, this response sent Inuyasha's thoughts inward again. The inuhanyou stood back up and trudged to his tree, pausing once to gaze at Kagome's sleeping form. She twitched a bit, no doubt having some vivid dream. Satisfied that she was safe, he hopped back up to his branch, yawning, and settled in to think about the second woman he'd lost to a silly misunderstanding.


	7. Never Piss Off a Pregnant Woman

****

Chapter Seven.

Cough. Sputter. Heave.

Nothing.

Bending over a small bush on her hands and knees, Kagome moaned. This was the most miserable moment of her life. Well, maybe not, if she was being objective, but still…

Another wave of nausea set in. She shut her eyes and prayed for something to come and kill her.

"Daijouka?"

Whipping around at the sound of his gruff but concerned voice, Kagome suddenly got very dizzy. She waited for the trees to stop spinning around her before shaking her head and attempting to stand.

"It's nothing, just a little morning sickness."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her phony optimism, and watched as she made her way back to camp. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou had left early in the morning to seek out shard rumors in a neighboring village, leaving Inuyasha alone to watch over the pregnant miko. At first he'd complained, pointing out that he was not going to take responsibility for her. Then Miroku wisely pointed out that it was a great opportunity for him to relax for a while since Kagome would likely sleep in for several hours more. The idea of forced laziness put a happy glint in the hanyou's eyes and he 'reluctantly' agreed.

Kagome was heaving again, and he could smell the hint of saltwater tears pooling in her eyes at the exertion. Yes, he'd read about morning sickness in that spellbook of hers. Not that he'd admit he'd been sneaking peeks, of course. He was just bored keeping watch at night, that's all.

"Stay here," he suddenly commanded, bounding into the tree line and disappearing before Kagome could get a word of protest in.

The young woman snuggled into her sleeping bag again as minutes passed without a sign of the hanyou. _I guess I finally did it,_ she thought to herself. _All my nausea and fatigue and I've succeeded in pissing him off. He ran away and left me here to be gobbled up by the first hungry youkai that finds me and I'll never get to say goodbye to Mama, Souta, Ji-chan—_

"Here."

Blinking at Inuyasha's sudden return, she stared at the small pile of plums he'd dropped before her.

"What's this?"  


"You're going to keep dry heaving unless you eat something to settle your stomach," he replied as though she were a fool. Which at the moment described her feelings exactly.

"A-arigato, Inuyasha."

"Feh."

She watched as he stomped back to his tree, hopping up effortlessly to rest on a branch and close his eyes. When yet another wave of nausea assaulted her, Kagome tore her eyes away from the hanyou and picked up a plum. She was amazed to discover he'd even washed them for her already, and plucked out all stems and leaves. Smiling to herself, she took a bite and sighed at the deliciously sweet juices that ran down her throat.

Cracking open an eye, Inuyasha watched her happily eat up the fruits he'd picked for her. He even thought he detected a little moan of ecstasy, but that was probably just his imagination…

"Ohayo!" The pair was jolted out of their respective silences by the shard-hunting trio's approach. 

"Ohayo," Kagome greeted back, wiping plum juice from the corner of her mouth.

"Kagome, did you go plum harvesting on your own?" Sango stared at the girl in horror, imagining all the possible travesties that could have occurred.

"Iie," Kagome quickly assured her. "Actually, Inuyasha brought them for me."

As one, Miroku and Sango stared up at the hanyou, their eyes wide with surprise. "That was very kind of you, Inuyasha," Sango thanked him.

"Feh," was his only response.

"Jewel shards." Kagome was sitting stiff as a rod, training her miko powers toward the magical energy.

"Where?" Miroku glanced around the clearing. "No one in the village knew of any in the area."

"Yo!"

"Oh." Miroku turned to Sango and rolled his eyes. And the morning had been going so well, too…

Kouga came to a screeching halt in front of Kagome, taking both her hands in his own as usual and gazing at her adoringly. "How is the mother of my pups doing this morning?"

"Shitty," she answered easily, finding herself increasingly annoyed with his presence. To his credit, Inuyasha stayed up in his tree as though nothing were going on at all.

Not quite as intelligent as he wanted to believe he was, Kouga shot a look up at the hanyou. "Morning dog-turd. Been taking care of my woman?"

"More so than her mate has," he grumbled down to the wolf demon, debating whether to bash his smug face in or simply kill him for his insolence. The second option reeked of Sesshoumaru, so he opted instead to stay in the tree and wait for the annoyance to vacate the campsite.

Kouga didn't seem to know when to stop, which was a trait the two young demons had in common. "Well if you guys would hurry up and find the rest of those shards, I could take her home with me. Wouldn't that be wonderful, Kagome?"

The miko narrowed her eyes at him, trying to guess his game plan. He did remember that they were just pretending, right? "Kouga…"

He wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close, and continued to beam up the tree. "Ah, I've missed having my mate sleeping beside me."

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him, pulling herself out of his arms.

Inuyasha, tired of being hassled, jumped down from the tree and strode over to the wolf man. "If you miss her so god-damned much then take her."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Kouga knew he was treading on dangerous grounds, and even risking Kagome's wrath, but for some reason he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"What I'd like," Inuyasha began in a dangerous tone, "is for you to stop meddling in our affairs. If she wants to go with you, she's free to go." He changed his focus to Kagome. "I mean that. If you want to leave, then just go. I'm tired of dealing with this."

Sango gasped, unconsciously grasping Miroku's hand.

Kagome sputtered. "I— but the shards—"

"We'll find another way," Inuyasha answered. "You're already almost three months along, so you'll be damned near useless to us soon anyway."

"Don't you insult my woman, Inukkoro," Kouga warned.

"And you don't tell me what to do. You're the one who got her pregnant. Be a man for once and take some responsibility for your actions!"

The two demons started growling at each other, and Kouga pushed Kagome aside, crouching into a battle stance. She glanced anxiously from demon to hanyou, her insides once again turning to mush as fear coursed through her veins.

"You want to fight me, dog-breath?"

"I want to be left alone," Inuyasha responded. "But since you don't know when to back off, I guess there's no other choice."

"You'd leave Kagome's child without a father?"

"Not like you're doing the job right anyway…"

Kouga's eyes flashed and in a second he was pouncing on Inuyasha. Kagome continued to stare at the scene before her as though it were a horror film. She could have easily sat Inuyasha as usual, but somehow that didn't seem right. He wasn't the aggressor here, for once.

"Kagome do something, please!" Sango plead, her heart aching for the miserable hanyou before her.

Oh if only Kouga had an enchanted rosary like Inuyasha did!

She was risking a lot, but had no other choice. When Kouga extracted himself from Inuyasha, she quickly ran between the two and held out her hands. A beam of energy welled up inside her and shot out toward the wolf demon, sending him sprawling into a thick tree.

"What did you do that for?!" Kouga rubbed the back of his head, his vision swimming.

"Kouga, please go. I promised I'd help until the end and we're not done yet. You're not helping here, so just go back and take care of the pack."

The wolf demon blinked in confusion, then slowly rose from his prone position to regard the young miko. Yes, she was mad at him. For once, she'd turned on him instead of inukkoro. What did this mean? Instead of causing irreparable damage to their relationship, he nodded and, with a quick nasty glare toward Inuyasha, spun off toward home again.

"Are you okay?" Kagome turned toward Inuyasha to find him staring at her in utter disbelief. Her actions weren't lost on him, either. Realizing he was gaping, the hanyou quickly covered his shock with a mask of indifference. "Damned wimpy wolf can't hurt me," he tossed at her, returning yet again to his tree.

"We should get going again soon," Miroku announced in the following silence.

Sango nodded, her eyes still trained on Kagome, who was staring at her hands in confusion.

"Kagome-chan?"

The young miko looked up after a bit to find Sango staring at her in worry. "Something wrong?"

"Iie, it's just…"

"What?"  


She looked at her hands again in wonder. "I've never felt that much power before. It was as if …" Her eyes grew wide, and she glanced up at Inuyasha before turning back to Sango again. "It was as if the baby was protecting us."


	8. Fearful Things

****

Chapter Eight.

"Mama, I can't go back to the doctor anymore."

"Kagome?"

The young woman looked up at her mother, tears of concern welling up in her eyes. "I was so scared…"

"What happened in there?"

Kagome shook her head, waiting until the doors of the elevator closed before turning to her mother again. "Dr. Miyagi was reading the sonogram for me, and then he suddenly looked very worried. I – I got scared by the expression on his face, and he said there was something wrong with the baby."

Higurashi-san gasped, and took her daughter's hand. "What's wrong with the baby, Kagome?"

"That's what I kept asking him, and he wouldn't say anything, just kept scanning my stomach and staring at the screen. I actually had to scream at him to get his attention again, and that's when he showed me the monitor."

"WELL?"

"The pup has his ears, Mama. The doctor could see them clear as day and he thought the baby was deformed."

"Is that all?"

Sighing, Kagome nodded.

Higurashi-san let out the breath she'd been holding and took her daughter into a warm hug. "That's not so bad, is it?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I'm glad, actually. But the way he was acting, you'd think something was seriously wrong. I thought maybe he was going to tell me she was missing her heart or something!" Pulling away from her mother, Kagome blushed. "I guess I'm just overly emotional from those mood swings, ne?"

As the older woman laughed, the doors opened onto the first floor of the medical complex. "Hai, sounds like it to me. Believe me, they only get worse." Then she stopped in her tracks. "Did you say _she_?"

"Hm? Oh, that." The miko giggled. "I just think of the baby as a girl. I don't actually know yet. Dr. Miyagi was going to tell me but I stopped him."

"Your father and I didn't want to know in advance either," Higurashi-san recalled. "So you don't think you should keep seeing him?"

"No. When I was leaving he wanted to schedule another sonogram and look into pre-natal surgery! There's no way I'm letting that man touch my baby."

"Well eventually someone is going to notice, Kagome. Unless you plan on giving birth alone and hiding the baby for the rest of its life."

Her mother's words echoed in Kagome's head. Giving birth alone didn't sound like a cheery proposition. "Kaede can do it," she finally answered. "She's already offered to help me in any way I need, and she's usually the one helping the village women."

"But if there are complications—"

Kagome snorted. "According to Dr. Miyagi there already are, Mama. I trust Kaede to do her best, and so far I've been eating right, exercising… I'm sure it will be fine."

The two women stepped onto a bus and took a seat near the back. Higurashi-san sighed. "I guess it might be for the best, dear. With that small frame of yours, you're already starting to show. I can only imagine what would happen if your friends caught us on the street one day."

Resting a hand on her abdomen lightly, Kagome smiled a little. Yes, she could imagine the scandalous looks she'd receive from Yuka and Ayumi. Eri might actually be jealous. That girl had no common sense at all. "Maybe it's time I stop traveling back and forth so much."

She hated to admit it, but her daughter was right. Who knew what effects the constant time traveling had on the baby? As much as she worried about leaving her daughter in the hands of a raping hanyou and lecherous monk, she had to admit the men had done an excellent job of caring for Kagome, if her stories were any indication.

Recognizing the street they were on as the one where her favorite pharmacy was located, Higurashi-san stood up abruptly and pulled the cord to request a stop.

"Mama?"

"If you're going to be spending the next six months in the Sen—in your other home," she quickly amended as she remembered their place, "then we need to stock up on vitamins and ramen." A bright smile lit her face suddenly. "And baby clothes!"

Kagome laughed a little at her mother's sudden enthusiasm. "Isn't it a little early for that?"

"Not at all. I might not see you again until after the baby is born, and no grandchild of mine is going to go around naked!"

The bus came to a stop, allowing the women to disembark. Higurashi-san all but dragged Kagome down the street, rattling off a list of things she wanted to buy.

* * * * *

"Have you noticed," Miroku began as he stoked the firepit in Kaede's small hut, "that Kouga doesn't seem to come around as often?"

Sango nodded, watching Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, its like he's given up on her."

Now that was an odd idea. The monk turned more fully toward Sango, peering at her with questioning eyes. "Why would he give up on her? I just thought he was afraid of Inuyasha."

Ah, yes. Sango suddenly remembered that Miroku had been given Inuyasha's version of the story. He, too, thought that Kagome had married the wolf demon. "Yes, well," she faltered, "I just meant that maybe he wishes he could take it back."

"Even Kouga surely has more honor than that," Miroku ventured.

"Feh, I wouldn't be surprised," Inuyasha finally spoke up from the corner of the room. "That wimpy wolf just rushes into things without thinking them through. Stupid baka probably never considered how much work a mate would be, so he dumps her in our laps to take care of."

The human pair snicked to each other.

"Nani? What's that laughing about?"

"N-nothing," Sango giggled. "Just agreeing with you."

"Hai, what does Inuyasha know about rushing into things without thinking, ne, Sango?" the houshi whispered conspiratorially.

This comment unleashed another round of laughter from the taijiya, waking Shippou in the process.

"What's so funny?" he asked, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"I think someone drugged their dinners," Inuyasha mumbled, having heard every word of Miroku's jesting insult. 

Before Shippou could ask another question, the mat covering Kaede's front door opened to reveal the elder miko and Kagome.

"Back already?"

Kagome nodded, and lifted the little kit into her arms. "Yes, just needed to discuss some girl things."

Shippou cocked his head at the young woman. "Girl things?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, Shippou," she answered. "Kaede's going to be helping me when it's time for the baby to come out."

The little kitsune's mouth rounded into an o-shape, and he nodded his understanding. "So does this mean you're going to stay here with us from now on?"

"For the next six months," Kagome responded. "In my world if a seventeen-year-old is pregnant it's usually because she was loose, and that reflects poorly on her family. My mother and I decided that I should stay here until the baby is born, and then I can go back to school afterwards."

"Oi, Kagome-chan, at what age do women in your time usually start having families?" Sango had often wondered about that, since even in her own village she was often considered a bit old to be single and childless.

Coming to sit beside the fire, Kagome toyed with the hem of her new maternity shirt, finding the cottony texture comforting. "Early- to mid-twenties, usually. A lot of women are waiting until their thirties now, especially in the western countries."

"Thirties? So old?" Miroku blinked at the new information. "How can they survive the labor at that age?"

Kagome laughed at his shocked expression. "Women live a lot longer in my time than they do here. They study in school and start careers first, then get married afterwards."

"Feh, isn't it the man's job to provide for his mate?" Inuyasha was suddenly very interested in the conversation, leaning closer to the group to hear her response.

"It used to be that way, but not anymore. A lot of marriages end in divorce, so if a woman relies completely on her husband she might easily end up single and poor, having to raise the children on little to nothing." A sad cloud passed over her eyes as she pondered her own future, if she failed to finish school successfully.

Inuyasha stared at her, as though reading her thoughts. Why was the girl always so eager to return to such a cruel place that left mothers alone with young mouths to feed? Even after his father had died, Inutaisho's closest friends made sure his mate and half-breed son were cared for. It wasn't until the woman had died that Inuyasha found himself alone…

Oblivious to the dour mood in the room, Shippou bounced up on Kagome's lap, patting her belly where he could feel a faint heartbeat. "Kagome, your pup is going to be just like Inuyasha!"

Five sets of eyes immediately darted in his direction, each holding distinctly different emotions but all sharing a look of shock.

"How so, Shippou?" Kagome's voice shook with barely restrained nervousness. Could he tell, somehow?

"It's Kouga's pup, right? So the baby's going to be a hanyou, too!"

Discreetly releasing her breath of relief, Kagome nodded slowly. "Um, right. I guess so."

Proud of his observation, Shippou bounded toward the inuhanyou and beamed up at him. "So you can help teach the pup, since you know all about being a hanyou, right?"

"Feh, that's Kouga's job, not mine."

Shippou scrunched up his face into a disapproving frown. "Kouga's a baka," he retorted, then quickly glanced back at Kagome. "Sorry, Kagome, it's just that he… is. Anyway, he doesn't know what it's like being a hanyou, and you do."

Folding his arms against his chest, Inuyasha sat back and ignored the kitsune. Accepting defeat, Shippou huffed and returned to his earlier position on Kagome's lap. "I can't wait until you have your baby, Kagome. Then I won't be the youngest one anymore."

Smiling, Kagome allowed the kit to snuggle up into her shirt, and watched as he drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

"No, Inuyasha. Please, no…"

She was having another nightmare. One in which he seemed to be hurting her somehow. Inuyasha watched as beads of sweat rolled off her forehead, soaking the blanket on which she was sleeping.

"You don't want to do this…"

A sudden image entered his mind, and he struggled to make it clearer. He was in a dimly lit cavern, holding someone down, and they were crying…

Just as quickly as it rose, the image disappeared again. Inuyasha shook his head to clear the residual fog and again looked at Kagome. She was shifting in her bag, whimpering. If this went on much longer she might hurt her pup.

Silently creeping over to her, Inuyasha gently shook her shoulder, watching for a sign of her waking.

"Inuyasha, no…"

"Kagome? You're having a nightmare, wake up."

"No!"

"Kagome!"

"NO!" She shot up, her terror-filled eyes staring straight through him. The look on her face sent a icy chill through his spine, causing him to topple backward onto his arms. After a moment she seemed to gather her senses and turned to see him staring back at her with concern.

"Nasty dream you were having," he ventured, unnerved by the way she continued to stare at him as though he were a predator.

A few more moments passed and the fear seemed to melt away, replaced by some apprehension and embarrassment. "Yeah, just a bad dream," she feebly whispered back.

"Want to um, talk about it?"

Raising her eyebrows, Kagome bit her lip. "Why are you so concerned all of the sudden?"

"You're going to wake everyone up," he lied. "Don't feel like dealing with a cranky taijiya in the morning, do you?"

Shaking her head, Kagome pushed the blanket aside and stood up. Inuyasha followed her and they walked out of the room together, coming to sit under the stars on the hill by Kaede's hut.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What was the dream about?"  


"I—I don't' remember."

Studying her with disbelieving eyes, Inuyasha finally resigned himself to his curiosity and returned his gaze up to the stars. "I've heard bad dreams can be normal in the fourth month."

"You have, have you?" Since when had Inuyasha become a pregnancy expert?

"Got bored and read your book one day," he answered casually, flicking at blades of grass with his claws.

"Oh."

"Kagome… have I ever done anything to hurt you? Aside from trying to kill you that first night, I mean?"

Chuckling at the off-handed way in which he'd mentioned his original vendetta, she cautiously shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, sometimes you're a jerk and all, but you usually try to protect me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you ask?"  


Avoiding her gaze, he shrugged. "No reason, just wondering."

Just wondering. Right. Kagome continued to sit in the silent comfort of night, listening to distant crickets chirping.

"If I ever did anything to hurt you, you would tell me, right?"  


What was with him tonight? A thought entered her mind, and Kagome froze. Had she been talking in her sleep? "I guess it depends," she finally replied.

"On?"

"On what I think the outcome would be."

Now that wasn't the answer Inuyasha wanted to hear. Another glance at the miko told him no further explanation was forthcoming. He sighed silently, and prayed to the gods that it would never come to that.

Sensing his gloomy mood, Kagome stood up. "Wait here, there's something I wanted to show you."

Waiting in agitated quiet, Inuyasha continued to fidget with the grass, not noticing the bald patch he'd created in his nervousness. A minute later, Kagome returned with her music player, flashlight, and an odd piece of dark-colored film.

"What's all this?"

Smiling, she sat back down and went about plugging her headset into the tape player, and rewinding the tape inside. "Some stuff I brought from my last doctor's visit," she said happily. "I know you told me you didn't want to be bothered with all that stuff," she cast a quick look at him, judging his reaction, "but since we're the only ones up, I thought it might be entertaining."

Once the tape stopped rolling, she adjusted the volume and set it to play. Previous experience taught her that actually placing the headset on the hanyou's ears would be pointless. They didn't fit and his superior hearing rendered them unnecessary anyhow.

"That sounds like…"

"The baby's heartbeat," she affirmed. "Our healers can use machines to amplify the sound and tape it so the mother can take it home with her."

Inuyasha listened to the soft, steady pounding in awe. True, he could have heard it on his own, but that would have required a certain proximity to the young woman that he simply wasn't comfortable allowing himself. After all, she was another demon's mate, not his.

"What about that other thing?" he pointed to the film.

"Oh, that's the sonogram."

"Son-o-gram?"

Flicking on her flashlight, Kagome adjusted the direction of the beam and then leaned over to Inuyasha, using a finger to point to the lump in the center. "That's a picture of the baby."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Looks like an inkblot to me."

She giggled. "Yeah, it does, until you know what to look for. You see, that's the head, sorta… actually it might be the stomach, I'm not entirely sure… and there's a leg… and an arm… and then there's the—" she stopped, not sure how much she wanted to reveal. 

"The what?"

"Um, not sure what those are," she lied. "Probably just some random noise in the picture."

"Oh." Inuyasha was suddenly aware of how close they were sitting, and quickly pulled back to a respectable distance. "Anyway, I still think it looks like an ink blot."

Shrugging, Kagome took a last look at the picture before turning off her flashlight and putting them aside. "I guess it depends on who's looking at it," she finally spoke.

"Going to show Kouga?"

"Er—no, probably not. I don't think he'd be interested in that," she fumbled for words, blushing all the while.

"And I would?"  


The blush grew deeper, just like the hole she knew she was digging herself into. "Oh, um, well, I just figured there was nothing better to do, and so, yeah…"

Inuyasha found the pink on her cheeks strangely endearing, but decided to spare her further embarrassment. At least this time. "Think you can go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Standing up again, he offered her his arm, which she gratefully accepted, and pulled her up.

"Inuyasha?"  


"Yeah?"  


"Arigato."


	9. Separation Anxiety

****

Chapter Nine.

"Hiraikotsu!"

Sango hefted the large boomerang at the beast and watched in satisfaction as it split in two. True, the centipede had already been weakened by Inuyasha's Sankontessou, but it was still satisfying to do the one thing that linked her to her past; even if it was killing.

Catching the large weapon gracefully, she lowered it to the ground and quickly turned toward the bushes where Kagome had fallen, fear replacing her brief interlude of pride. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, barely," Inuyasha ground out, watching the blood seep from the gash on her arm. Fortunately she'd only been thrown a short distance, and landed on her back instead of her stomach. Shippou had confirmed that the baby's heartbeat was as strong as ever, putting their most pressing concern to rest.

"Perhaps it's time to consider retiring Kagome-sama from our battles for a while," Miroku sagely observed, ripping a strip of fabric from his cloak to wrap around her arm as a bandage.

Blinking against the pain, Kagome began to stir, "no, really, I'll be okay."

"Don't be an idiot," Inuyasha barked back at her. "Keep this up and you'll be birthing a corpse."

That shut her up immediately, but she continued to pout. After the monk finished wrapping the miko's arm, Inuyasha lifted her up, grunting under the extra fifteen pounds she'd managed to gain in the last six months. Unwilling to crush her stomach between them, he settled her onto Kirara's back, waiting until Sango came to sit behind her before stepping back.

"We'll get her back to Kaede for a checkup, and then go after Akureiketsu."

"I want to come with you," Kagome weakly pled, already feeling her eyes slip closed in fatigue.

"Kagome-chan," Sango gently rubbed the girl's back avoiding the abrasions she could see through her shirt, "I have to agree with Inuyasha. You're in no condition to be traipsing about, much less chasing after demons and witches."

"But we're so close," the miko sighed, finally succumbing to sleep.

"She out?"  


"Yeah, I doubt she'll wake up before we get back to the village."

"Good." Jerking his head to the north in an indication they should follow, the hanyou took off at top speed, his heart racing in fear for the life growing inside Kagome's body.

* * * * *

The hut was bathed in silence while Kaede wiped the girl's brow with a wet cloth. It would have been preferable to get her to the hot springs for a real bath, but Kagome had been deep asleep since before she'd arrived.

As if on cue, her eyelids fluttered, and she moaned. "My back… it hurts…"

"Aye, child. Ye took quite a spill from what Sango described."

Her eyes suddenly completely open Kagome shot up, then fell back onto her arms when dizziness overcame her. "My head, too…"

"Lie down, Kagome," Kaede warned her sternly. "Ye are less than three months away from giving birth. This is hardly the kind of behavior an expectant mother should be engaging in."

Coming into the hut with a fresh bowl of water, Sango caught the end of Kaede's words. "She's awake?"  


"Hai, and already trying to get up."

"Kagome-chan, please."

"I'm pregnant, not broken."

"Why are ye so eager to jump back into action, my child? Never before have ye acted with such recklessness while injured."

Hiding her face beneath her hair, Kagome turned away from the women's inquisitive stares. "I just don't want to lie around all day, is that so hard to understand?"

Sango bit her lip, and caught Kaede's attention. With an apologetic look, she motioned for the older miko to leave the room. Perhaps Kagome wouldn't answer Kaede, but she was damned well going to tell Sango what was bothering her.

When the old woman left, Sango came to sit down before Kagome's futon and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking lightly to get her attention. "All right, enough of this. I can tell you're hiding some worry and I want to know what it is."

"I just don't want to be trouble," she answered meekly.

"You never have been before, and you aren't now."

Kagome snorted. "Before, a scratch was just a scratch. Now, every time I so much as trip you guys make a huge to-do about it and if this keeps up Inuyasha—" she stopped herself quickly, knowing she'd said too much.

"Inuyasha what?" Gritting her teeth in frustration Sango shook her again, wary of using too much force but thoroughly exasperated with the young woman's apparent lack of self-preservation instincts.

Realizing it was pointless to fight the taijiya, Kagome whispered her fears. "Inuyasha might make me go home."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because," Kagome began to cry, hormones on the loose again, "he told me the first time my pregnancy caused an inconvenience, I had to leave."

Rolling her eyes, Sango gently lay Kagome back onto her futon and sat back. "That was six months ago, Kagome-chan; and besides, it's not like we're only worried about the baby. We want you to be healthy too!"

"If I can't keep up, and you have to leave me behind, then I'll be all alone," she pointed out sadly. "I can't go home, Sango-chan. I'm as big as a house!"

"This is all about what Inuyasha said earlier? About us going after Akureiketsu later?"

Kagome nodded, the tears still streaming down her face.

"Oi Kagome-chan, it's not like we were going to leave you here completely alone! You'll have Kaede and Shippou. We can send for Kouga, too, if you'd like."

"Kouga won't come," Kagome insisted. "I think I pretty much scared him off that one time. He's only dropped in once since then, and it was just to tell us about Naraku's reappearance."

"You're afraid of being abandoned," Sango realized with empathy. She wondered how she would feel if she were a young pregnant woman, away from her family and with friends who constantly found themselves in mortal danger. It certainly wouldn't be comforting.

"Baka!" Inuyasha burst into the hut, having eavesdropped on the conversation from the roof ever since she'd woken up. "You're not alone, and you're not going to be alone. I promise. So stop whining."

"Inuyasha!"

"Sango, go tell Miroku to get ready. We don't all need to go on this trip, so I'll stay behind with Princess Kagome here." He watched Kagome's eyes flicker with relief, joy, and annoyance at his words before plopping down to sit next to her.

"Hai, we'll be back by tomorrow evening."

"Fine."

When the taijiya exited the hut, Kagome's expression took on a deadly glare. "Princess Kagome?"

"I've never known a pregnant woman to be so high maintenance," he countered, a smirk on his face.

"And I suppose you've spent a lot of time around them?"

"Feh. Don't have to, I know when you're being a baby."

"Inuyasha?"

He peered at her warily, recognizing the tone in her voice.

"Osu—OHH!"

Flinching, Inuyasha awaited the painful slam, but it never came. "Kagome?"

She was sitting straight up again, an expression of confusion painted on her face as her hand came to rest upon her distended belly. She rubbed it lightly, and after a few moments her lips rose into a bright grin and she squealed in delight.

"Daijouka, Kagome?"

"The baby kicked!"

"Nani?"

Grabbing his hand she placed it, palm down, where her's had been and held it there, waiting patiently. Again the little one moved, prompting yet another squeak from its mother. "Can you feel it?"

"That's the pup?"

"Hai!"

Inuyasha sat in silence, absorbing the movement of eager life growing inside Kagome and forgetting all thoughts of their argument in his wonder. "Spirited little thing, isn't it?"

She smiled, finding a place for her hand next to Inuyasha's so she could share in the moment. "I'm not surprised," she concurred. "I've always believed this little one would be a handful."

The baby settled at last, leaving the two to sit in silence once again. Inuyasha suddenly realized his hand was still on her stomach and quickly withdrew it, blushing wildly. "Does that happen a lot?" he asked, hoping to draw her attention away from his embarrassment.

"Supposed to, but this is actually the first time I've noticed it."

"Too bad Sango and Miroku missed it."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But… I'm glad at least you were here."

"So am I," he said. The blush returned with a vengeance and he began to sputter, "I- I mean, just that, I wouldn't want to hear you complain about being alone again."

"Of course."

"Feh."

Wanting to spare him further embarrassment, Kagome pushed herself up onto her knees and reached for her backpack. "Hungry?"

Damn girl was going to give herself a hernia. Inuyasha pushed her back down and grabbed the bag for her, placing it in her lap.

"Thank you." She pulled out the remains of her travel ramen and set them out on her blanket. "I thought I could make us some dinner."

The hanyou's stomach grumbled, answering her question quite loudly. Kagome laughed. "Sounds like a yes to me. If you go fill the pot for me, I'll put some more kindling on the fire, deal?"

Eager for a good meal of ramen – beef tonight, praise Kami! – Inuyasha nodded and got up to run his errand. When the hanyou had left, Kagome took a second to close her eyes and remember last few minutes.

__

It's almost as if we were a family, she reflected, her heart warming at the notion. _When it's just the two of us, getting along… I can almost believe that he'll always be there and that this whole situation was on purpose._

Sighing again, Kagome shook her head. No point in going down that path. In three months she'd be back in Tokyo, raising a baby as a single mother. Still, she supposed she could be thankful for days like this, and reminded herself to write about it in her diary. One day the little pup would want to hear all about her father, and Kagome wasn't going to leave out a single detail.


	10. False Love and False Labor

Tomecko: It's looking like this one will be around fifteen chapters, give or take.

Disclaimers, see chapter one.

****

Chapter Ten.

It was late at night, but inside Kaede's hut, it might as well have been mid-day. Its usual occupants, instead of sleeping, were running around like headless chickens going about their various errands as ordered by the old miko.

"Isn't it a bit soon for this?" Sango worried aloud, accepting another blanket from Miroku before plopping Shippo into his arms and shooing the men out the door.

"Aye, sooner than I'd like but it's not our decision."

"Isn't there some magic spell you can use on me to make this easier?" Kagome whined from her crouching position, eyes glazed over with pain.

"Ye would think so, but no," Kaede replied with a bit of sarcastic humor. "Now lie down for a moment, child, I want to check your stomach."

With a little help from Sango, Kagome managed to flatten herself on the futon. She stared up at the thatched roof, breathing as deeply as she could and grasping Sango's hand. The contractions were actually still quite far apart, but each one gripped her with such extraordinary discomfort the miko didn't know how she'd survive the more frequent ones.

Noticing a frown on Kaede's face, Sango quietly whispered to her, "is something wrong?"

"Hai. She really shouldn't be contracting so much without having broken her water."

* * * * *

Outside, Miroku and Inuyasha were pacing in large circles, the latter male's ears straining for bits of conversation going on indoors.

"What's going on in there?" Miroku prodded when the hanyou had been quiet for some time.

"Not really sure, Sango started whispering; but she sounded worried."

Shippou tugged at Inuyasha's haori, his sleepy eyes filled with concern. "Is Kagome going to be okay?"

"Baka, women have babies all the time."

"Not this early," he whined.

"How do you know so much about it?"

"I read Kagome's book too."

Miroku raised an eyebrow at the kitsune, wondering if maybe he shouldn't have taken a glance at the thing. Seemed like everyone else had. "What is she, about eight months along?"

"Hai," Inuyasha answered.

An unexpected gust of wind tore the men's attention from the hut.

Kouga.

"I heard my woman screaming, Inukkoro. What have you done to her?"

As he opened his mouth to form a retort, another scream ripped through the night air. Eventually it died down, allowing him to voice his thought. "Teme, I'm not the one who got her pregnant."

Kouga's eyes widened as he continued to stare at the hut. "She—she's having the pup?"

Shippou nodded, glaring at the wolf demon. "Yeah, and a lot of help you've been."

Miroku groaned, resting his head in his hands. Now was not the time for this…

The three demon incarnate were engaged in a battle of wills, watching each other for a sign of weakness. Kouga twitched, Shippo sniffed, and Inuyasha growled. At last Inuyasha sneezed. Someone was gossiping about him again.

"If someone had called me I would have come over," Kouga finally defended himself. "I am the pup's father, after all."

"There's more to being a father than showing up every now and then and boasting about it," Inuyasha snapped back.

"Like you wouldn't? Anyway, I'll bet if it was your whelp you'd be off with that dead bitch, getting some time in while Kagome was too fat to service you."

"Don't you talk about Kikyou," the hanyou warned.

Kouga snickered, "exactly. I don't know why Kagome insists on keeping you in her life. You're nothing but a dirty, faithless, half-breed."

"I've got news for you, wolf-man, that kid of yours isn't going to be any more demon than I, so if you have a problem with hanyou, then I recommend you leave now before you upset Kagome."

"Why you—"

"BOYS!"

The demons turned toward Miroku, who was now standing next to Sango just outside the hut.

"Nani?"  


"If you would just stop arguing for one second," Miroku shook his head, realizing it was a futile wish, "you'd have noticed that Kagome-sama stopped screaming."

Ice water filled Inuyasha's veins at the implications. "Is she…?"

Sango recognized his fear and slapped Miroku for his poor choice of words. "No, no. She's fine. It was false labor."

"False…labor…?"

Shippou jumped down from the hanyou's shoulder, shaking his head. "Tsk, tsk, you really are a baka. Even I remember what that is."

"So," he paused, "no baby?"

"Not yet," Sango affirmed. "Which is good because it was too early anyway."

Without waiting for an invitation, Kouga bounded past the taijiya and into the hut, coming to a stop at Kagome's side. The young woman was resting snugly underneath the covers of her futon, sweat pasting her hair to her face.

"Kouga-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked him weakly, wishing it were Inuyasha or even Miroku who came to visit her instead.

"Heard your screaming while I was out hunting. Wanted to make sure Inukkoro wasn't going for a second round." At her annoyed glare, he shifted his crouch and tried to change the subject. "So what happened, anyway? Why did you start having the baby and then stop?"

"I went out on a shard hunt today." Before he could chastise her, she held up a hand. "I know, I know. I shouldn't have so much as left the hut in my last month, and I've already promised Kaede that this was the last time. No matter what. It's just that with Akureiketsu's help we're sure to get Naraku at last, and I really want to be a part of that."

"Well no woman of mine is going to go out and get herself and my pup killed over Inukkoro's dead wench."

"Your pup?"

"Well, yeah, I mean since we agreed to tell him it's mine, I figured after you whelped we could go back to the pack and raise it there, right?"

Kagome struggled to sit up, staring Kouga straight in the eye. "We agreed to pretend, Kouga-kun. I am not going to be your mate."

"Yes, but –"

"No buts. When I have this baby, I'm taking it back to my world and raising it there with my mother's help."

"What about a father?"

"I'll manage," she answered him, not liking his tone of voice.

"That's not acceptable. After all I've done to help you…"

Kagome laughed bitterly. "Yes, you've helped. You got me cleaned up and took me home. Then you proceeded to pick on Inuyasha every chance you got, rubbing his face in this whole mess. Yes Kouga, thank you for helping."

The wolf demon's eyes flashed, his pride wounded. "So even after all of this, you're still picking dog turd over me?"

"I'm picking no one, Kouga. But if I had to, I would choose Inuyasha. Even believing that this was your baby, he's been far more helpful to me than I could have ever imagined."

"He raped you!"

"He redeemed himself," she replied. "If he'd done it maliciously, I never would have come back; but he wasn't himself and I was being stupid and yet somehow things have managed to work out."

Unable to come up with a coherent thought, Kouga's mouth moved without words. At last, he stood up, and glared down at her. "Fine, you want to do this with Inukorro, be my guest. See if I come around anymore."

With that, he stomped out the door, running right into Inuyasha. He growled, and directed his fiery stare at the hanyou. "If she likes you so much, then you can have her. I'm done with this shit. That kid's going to be an abomination anyway." 

Just as quickly as he'd appeared, Kouga was gone.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Inuyasha watched the dust settle where Kouga had taken off, turning his gaze to the door of the hut. He was about to go in when Sango held him back.

"Let me talk to her, she needs to calm down or the contractions might start up again."

With great reluctance, Inuyasha agreed and allowed Miroku to pull him along the dusty path that led out of the village.

"Come on my friend, let's go for a little walk."

* * * * *

Inuyasha tossed another flat stone onto the surface of the pond, watching as it skipped three times before sinking down. The small sliver of moonlight he saw reflected on the water did nothing to help his mood. Tomorrow night he'd be a human.

"Do you think he's really abandoned her?"

Miroku blinked a few times, wondering himself what the wolf demon had meant with his words. "Is it possible for a demon to leave their mate like that?"

Nodding, Inuyasha searched the ground for another stone. "Doesn't usually happen, but yeah."

"So what happens to the female if her mate casts her off?"

"Well, if she's strong enough she survives, and finds a pack to help her raise their offspring. I guess in Kagome's case that would be us."

"And if she's not?"

"Then she might get hunted by people like us, or eaten by other youkai." Running his tongue along his fangs in thought, Inuyasha quietly added, "or she might find a new mate."

The hanyou's quiet words weren't lost on the monk. "So she is free to bond with a new male, then?"

"Hai. But most demons don't want a tainted woman. That only happens in the case where the female and her new male already had some bond before the previous mating, or if the male is too weak to be accepted by more pure females."

Considering Inuyasha's words, he spoke again, "It would be a dishonor for someone such as yourself to take in Kagome-sama and her child?"

Inuyasha snorted, throwing his next rock a bit roughly, causing it to sink immediately. "I'm already a joke among youkai; it wouldn't really make much of a difference."

"Inuyasha?"

The hanyou remained silent, having abandoned his search for throwable stones in favor of studying the stars above. After what felt like hours, he turned to Miroku, his face awash in uncertainty.

"Do you think I should do it?"

Playing dumb, Miroku raised a questioning eyebrow. "Do..?"

"Ask Kagome to become my mate, Bouzou. I know you're not as stupid as you look, stop pretending."

Considering the situation, the monk heaved a sigh and chose his words carefully. "I guess that depends on your intentions."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Kouga had a point back there. You do run off after Kikyou-sama every chance you get. It's bad enough with this ambiguous chemistry you and Kagome-sama share, I know it hurts her a great deal." He watched the hanyou's head fall in shame, but continued his thought, "It would only be worse if you kept up that behavior as her mate."

"I already decided I'd give her up completely if I bonded to Kagome," Inuyasha replied to the monk's unspoken question. "Back when this whole thing started, and I ran off. I was angry at first, and confused. Then I realized I still had a chance if I could challenge Kouga for Kagome, so I spent that entire night deciding whether I was ready to put Kikyou in the past."

"And?"

"I am," he answered simply. "It isn't easy, but Kaede was right: she's not the same Kikyou that I knew fifty-two years ago. This Kikyou is no better than Kagura, really. I mean, she tries to do nice things for people, and that's the part of her old soul speaking. Still, ultimately what keeps her here on earth is the desire for vengeance and that's not what I want to be with."

"Do you love Kagome-sama?"

"I'm not sure."

Miroku looked at the eastern sky, watching as the first rays of light began to emerge from the horizon. There were few clouds in the sky, promising a beautiful day. "If I were you," he finally spoke again, "I'd spend my time trying to answer that question. Because if you don't love her, then you'll only be hurting her more."

Inuyasha was deep in thought, which pleased Miroku more than any words the hanyou could have spoken. He already knew the young demon loved his miko companion, but ultimately he had to read his own heart to know it. Stretching the kinks out of his limbs, Miroku patted the hanyou's shoulder in a comforting gesture, and slowly walked back to the village.


	11. Death and Life Under Lucky Stars

A/N: Okay, here is where I start asking you guys to suspend belief for a while. The next few chapters may have some unlikely situations designed to fit the ending I'm going for. I'll do my best to keep it plausible, but I'd appreciate as much leniency as I can get. If I think it's getting too out of hand, I'll adjust the ending, so let's see what happens, okay?

Onward!

****

Chapter Eleven.

"Shippou, how high?"

The little fox kitsune twiddled his fingers in guilt, hiding his eyes from Kaede. "I lost count."

The old woman groaned, going back to the pot of water she was pulling from the fire. Behind her, Kagome clenched tight to her blanket, beads of sweat beginning to form on her face as her stomach fluttered in anticipation. This was it, she was sure of it.

"Keep breathing, Kagome-chan, it's not so bad yet, right?"

"Easy for you to say, Sango-chan," she ground out between clenched teeth.

After a bit, the wave passed and she heaved a deep breath. Yes, she was forgetting to do her breathing, but proper exhalation and inhalation were the furthest thing from her mind.

"How far did you get before you lost count?" Kaede turned back to the kitsune, hoping the little fox could give her an estimate, at least.

"Um… I know I made it to six hundred," he answered.

"And if you had to guess, how much longer was it after six hundred before Kagome cried out again?"

"Same amount, I think."

Kagome bit her lip, doing some quick mental math. "So that's about twenty minutes, if Shippou's counting right."

"Hai, I think this might be the real thing."

"That's what I was afraid of," Kagome cried out, fear coursing through her. _Maybe if I close my eyes I'll wake up and find out that this has all been a bad dream. _She shut her eyes, opened them, and found herself looking down at her very large stomach, surrounded by blankets, salves, and buckets of steaming and cold water. So much for the nightmare theory.

"I want to stand up," she announced, raising an arm up for some help.

Sango ambled over to her, holding a hand over the bandaged wound in her side as she attempted to help the young woman to her feet. With a good deal of tugging and groaning, both women found themselves upright in the middle of the hut. "Are you sure you don't want to stay seated, Kagome-chan?"

"If I'm going to be like this for the next 36 hours, then there's no way I plan to spend all of it sitting. I'm going crazy in here."

"There's no guarantee it will take that long," Kaede assured her. "I've witnessed births as short as five hours in some cases."

Kagome prayed that she could enjoy such fortune, stumbling over to the front door to gaze out at the rising sun. It figured her baby decided to wake her before dawn. Kagome was NOT a morning person.

Another wave of pain rose up from her abdomen, rippling through her muscles like a small earthquake and making her feel thoroughly nauseated. She grabbed hold of the door jamb, feeling her legs buckling beneath her.

"Kagome!"

"I'm okay, just… give me a min—"

"EEW!"

Shippou stared in horror and disgust at the sight before him. He quickly turned away, hiding his face in Sango's kimono while the young woman began to chuckle. "You said you wanted to help, Shippou."  


"Is that the baby?"

"I wish it were that easy," Kagome moaned, feeling thoroughly disgusted by the stickiness. "But at least that confirms it. This is really going to happen."

Sango sent a sympathetic look to her friend, and lifted Shippou away from his hiding place. "Why don't you go find your friends and stay outside for the day, okay? I think we can handle this on our own."

Needing no further encouragement, the kitsune dashed out of the hut making great pains to avoid the pool of amniotic fluid on the floor.

"I feel so disgusting right now."

"Why don't ye go take a bath?"

"Nani?"

Kaede laughed at the stunned expression on the young women's faces. "This is only the first stage, child. I'm guessing ye have a whole day to go still. Take some cloths with ye, but don't actually get into the water. If ye would like, I can send along some of the other young women to help ye."

"A bath would be nice," Kagome acknowledged. "Okay. Sango-chan, can you move?"

"Yes, we'll just have to go slow." Gathering up some towels, Sango came up to the younger miko and maneuvered herself under her arm. "Kaede, we'll go on ahead. Have the others meet us there." Under her breath she added, "I wish Kirara were here…"

* * * * *

The water was wonderfully cool on her legs and Kagome longed to slip in completely. Still, she knew there were plenty of small bacteria and parasites which threatened hers and the baby's health if she dared to succumb to the desire, so she abstained.

Raising the washcloth to her arms, Kagome carefully rinsed off the soapy later she'd scrubbed in. "Sango-chan, do you think they're all right?"

"I hope so," she answered. "When I left, Naraku was in bad shape. I only wish we could have finished him off right then and there."

"Inuyasha will find him," Kagome announced, certain of the hanyou's dedication to his cause. "I can't believe Kagura turned on him like that. Wish I could have seen it for myself."

"It was amazing," Sango agreed. "Shame she had to die, but it gave us the opening we needed. Naraku barely had enough energy left to get away, there's no chance he will be able to hide for long. I wouldn't be surprised if he were already dead."

"You never told me how you got injured," Kagome reminded her, pointing to the moist bandages wrapped around the taijiya's waist.

Snorting bitterly, Sango touched the bandages lightly. "I wasn't paying attention and got blindsided by my own weapon."  


"Hiraikotsu? Wow, I'm amazed you survived."

"If it hadn't been for Miroku, it would have been worse," she conceded. "He pushed me out of the way, so I only got one end. Right after Naraku escaped, he sent me back on Kirara. I was mad at him, but I guess it's a good thing I came back, ne?"  


"Hai, I would hate to have to do this alone."

"Anyway, that was a day ago, so hopefully they've finished him off by now. It would be nice if they were here when the baby came. Just imagine what a wonderful gift it would be: the birth of your baby and the death of Naraku, all under the same sun!"

"And," Kagome said, toweling off her shoulders as she smiled, "the Shikon-no-Tama will be complete, too."

"Ready to go back?"

Kagome was about to nod when yet another contraction started up. They were coming much closer together now, but she'd learned to anticipate them and found that focusing on her breathing did provide a small bit of relief. Holding up a hand, she closed her eyes and panted it out, finally relaxing her shoulders when the pain passed.

"I am now, but let's try to hurry. I'm not sure if we can make it back before the next one hits."

Calling to the other village girls, Sango helped Kagome slide off her boulder and led her down the path to the village.

* * * * *

It was nearly sunset when Miroku arrived in the village, Kirara in tow. "Kagome-sama!"

Kaede intercepted him at the door, pushing him back out.

"Really, this time?"

"Hai, Miroku-dono. It would be helpful if ye could go to Asuki-san's hut and get dinner for Sango and myself. We haven't eaten all day. She's agreed to take in Shippou for the night, so if ye could check in on the little one, that would be nice as well."

Nodding quickly, Miroku took off toward the hut Kaede had indicated and set about doing the only thing a man was useful for during labor – running errands.

When he'd returned with the food, Sango joined him outside, taking a break from the humid air and heat inside.

"Houshi-sama, you came back alone. What happened? Is Naraku –"

"Dead." The monk lifted his hand, rosaries removed, his earlier good news having been momentarily pushed aside in the surprise of Kagome's labor.

Forgetting herself in her joy, Sango threw her arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek. "That's wonderful! Your curse is lifted!"

"Yes, all that's left now is to find the few shards that were scattered when Naraku died. Inuyasha was able to grab most of them, but there were a couple he couldn't locate."

"Kohaku."

With a solemn nod, Miroku massaged Sango's shoulders. "We'll find him, and do our best to keep him alive."

"I know." A frightening thought entered her mind as she remembered her earlier words. "Houshi-sama, where is Inuyasha?"

Seeing the concern in her eyes, he laughed softly. "He's fine, Sango. That little human girl who follows his brother around was badly injured in the fight. He wanted to bring her to a village to be cared for."

"Why didn't he just bring her here?"

"Didn't want Sesshoumaru anywhere near us."

"I guess that's a good thing, considering our current situation."

Miroku glanced back at the hut, hearing pained wails issue from the door again. "How has she been?"

"Amazingly well, considering our luck," Sango replied with a grin. "I can't help but feel like it's my own child being born, I'm so excited."

Looking up at the stars, the monk smiled. "This is a good day for the baby to be born. The stars are in a fortunate alignment." His soft smile suddenly turned less pure and Sango realized the downside to his curse being lifted. Now he had two hands to grope with.

"Not so fortunate for you, houshi-sama." She clunked him on the head with a fist, and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a woman in labor to attend to."  


"Matte, Sango!"

"Yes?"

"Should I go after Inuyasha?"

The demon exterminator shook her head. "He's coming back right after he drops the girl off, right?" At the monk's affirming nod she continued, "Then don't worry about it. He'll be here soon enough."

Hearing yet another screech from the hut, Sango quickly turned and hobbled back to Kagome's side.

* * * * *

"I can see the head!" Kaede announced, taking a moment to wipe her hands on a nearby towel. "Next time you feel the urge, I need you to push very hard."

"I'm so tired," Kagome whined. "I don't think I can."

"Do ye want this baby to stay inside ye forever?"

"May…be…" the familiar wave began building. Kagome began to push with all the strength she could muster, faintly aware of Sango counting beside her.

"…four…five…six…"

"It hurts…so…much…"

"….nine…TEN!"

Kagome took in a deep breath, yet another sharp contraction building before she finished.

"Again!"

"Come on, Kagome, you can do it!"

"Easy….for…you…to say….ARGH!"

"Keep going, Kagome, ye are almost done!"

"…seven…eight…nine…"

"PHEW!"

"One more and I think I'll have it—"

Praying to the gods, Kagome gathered every last bit of energy she had in her body.

"OO I HATE YOU, YOU HANYOU BASTARD!"

Sango's eyes widened in surprise at Kagome's words, but had little time to dwell on it as the girl heaved another deep breath and she heard the sound of a baby wailing. Releasing Kagome's hands, Sango crawled over to where Kaede was wiping fluids from the baby's nose –

And gasped.

"Ka…Kagome-chan…"

"Ne?" the girl whispered between gaping breaths.

"You lied to me…"


	12. Escaping Opportunity

****

Chapter Twelve.

"You lied to me."

Her mind foggy with hormonal and physical fatigue, Kagome strained to focus on the woman at her feet. She was vaguely aware that the wailing cries around her were coming from a baby. Her baby. Yes, she'd just given birth, and Sango was upset about something…

"Nani?" she whispered in a voice hoarse from screaming. 

Kaede glanced up from her work, searching both women's gazes as she finished wiping mucus from the child and wrapped it into a warm blanket. This wasn't the time or place, they still had work to do. "Sango, please take the baby for a moment, we still have the afterbirth."

Tearing her eyes away from the young miko she'd been staring at, Sango accepted the bundle from Kaede and sat back. Moments later the work was done, and Kaede had deftly cleaned up, helping Kagome to relax into a more comfortable position.

"The baby, is it…?

"It's a boy," Kaede answered. "A strong, healthy baby boy."

"Let me see him," Kagome begged, holding out her arms toward Sango.

The taijiya, still staring down in disbelief at the infant in her arms, finally responded to her friend's request and laid the baby on the young woman's chest.

Kagome's eyes instantly focused on the infant's face, all red and scrunched up like an angry old man. He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She studied his tiny fingers and toes, counting to make sure everything was where it should be. Moving up to his head, she ran a finger softly over the black fuzz on his otherwise bald skull. As she continued her exploration, the blanket slipped away revealing two small, fuzzy little projections.

He had perfect miniature replicas of the hanyou's ears. No wonder Sango had been in shock. Even the biggest idiot could identify the man who'd fathered this child.

"Sango-chan, I…" she wavered in her resolve, uncertain how to apologize for nine months of deception.

"Why?"

"I was afraid," she began weakly, still gazing down at the tiny miracle in her arms. The baby had quieted, and seemed thoroughly engrossed in the sound of his mother's voice. She knew he'd be hungry, and shifted a bit to give him access to his first meal.

Sango remained silent, allowing Kagome to tend to her child before pressing for a better answer. She didn't have to wait long, as Kagome finally looked up to her, eyes full of remorse.

"When it happened… at first I was in shock. I didn't know what to make of it. Kouga-kun explained to me about how youkai react to females in heat, and when I remembered how everything had occurred, I felt like it was my fault."

"How—how did it occur?" The demon exterminator blushed, realizing how inappropriate her question sounded. Still, she had to know – had the half-demon they'd entrusted their lives to on so many occasions truly raped her?

Reading her mind from the expression on her face, Kagome nodded. "Things happened much as I explained before, except that there wasn't a demon. Inuyasha transformed because I was teasing him while he was attuned to my scent. He took me in the cave he awoke in, and I escaped as soon as he fell asleep."

The baby had stopped suckling, and started drifting off to sleep again. Kagome replaced the fabric of her kimono and tucked him into his blanket, smiling softly at the soft sounds of his sleepy snoring.

"Kouga found you afterwards."

"Hai," Kagome nodded. "He wanted to kill Inuyasha, but I felt so guilty for my own role in the mess, I begged him not to. So instead, he brought me back to his place, cleaned me up, and told me I was pregnant."

"Who else knew?" Sango's throat constricted, her heart heavy with the knowledge that Kagome hadn't trusted her with the truth.

Seeing the pain in her friend's eyes, Kagome bit her lip. "Only Kouga, my mother, and Kaede. No one else, I promise."

"Why?"

Sighing, Kagome closed her eyes. "It was hard enough convincing Kouga-kun not to attack him. Even after he'd left me with his pack he kept talking about how he was going to make Inuyasha pay. Even if I could have convinced you to forgive him, I was afraid you'd slip up and he'd find out."

At those words, Sango started. Of course! Inuyasha… he still didn't know!

"Kagome… you have to tell him. You absolutely must."

The miko's eyes flew open again, filled with horror. Her slight jump woke the infant, and he started to cry softly.

"Shh, shh," Kagome rocked the baby, smoothing her hand over his head taking care not to push down on his delicate ears. "It's okay, baby, don't cry…"

"Kagome…"

"IIE! I can't, Sango. Even after all this time… ESPECIALLY after all this time. If he found out that I kept this from him, and that it happened because he raped me, it would absolutely destroy him. You must know that's true!"

"He'll definitely be distressed, I won't deny it, but Kagome – look at him!" She pointed to the crying infant, "I think he's going to realize something's not quite right when he sees the baby!"

"I know," Kagome whispered. "That's why I'm leaving tonight."

"NANI?"

"I knew he wouldn't be in the room when it happened, so at first I just worried about how to hide the ears before I made my getaway. This is actually working out for the best."

"You're just going to leave? Not even say goodbye to him?"

Kagome hugged the infant closer to her breast, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Hai."

* * * * *

Miroku held onto Shippou as the little kit cried his heart out. He couldn't believe Kagome was leaving him behind.

"Are you sure you can't be convinced to stay, Kagome-sama?" Miroku patted the kit on the head lightly, urging him to calm down. "I understand that you want to share the child with your family, but surely you'd like to rest first? We'd be more than happy to help you care for the little one."

"You're kind, Miroku-sama, but no. I really do have to leave now."

"Inuyasha's going to be so mad that we let you go," Shippou cried out, a fresh wave of tears pouring from his eyes.

"He'll be okay," Kagome assured him, her voice wavering.

Sango tapped the baby's nose lightly, smiling as it scrunched up in a cute little expression of annoyance. "You'll keep a shard, right?"

"Yes," Kagome answered. "When you get the rest together, you can come back for the last piece, just like we agreed."

"If you change your mind –"

"I won't."  


"Still, if you do," Sango stared hard at the girl, and Kagome held her words, "you always have a home here. Even without Inuyasha."

"You promised not to tell him, don't forget."

"It would be cruel," the taijiya replied. "If you told him yourself, at least you'd be here. I'm not going to watch the life go out of his eyes. Not again."

"Arigato."

"Don't thank me. I feel absolutely rotten about all of this."

Biting her lip, Kagome nodded. "All right then." She lifted her gaze past Sango's shoulder and forced a smile. "I'll remember you all, and maybe sometime in the future I'll drop by again with pictures or something. Please, take good care of yourselves."

"You too, Kagome-sama."

Shippou tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth were howls of grief.

Careful not to squish the baby between them, Kagome hugged Sango with one arm before stepping back again and walking toward the well. "I love you all," and with a final glance at the clearing around her, she hopped down the well, never to be seen again.

* * * * *

"She could have at least spent the rest of the night," Miroku mused. "Inuyasha may not have been eager about the baby when he first found out but I think he's been more than a little helpful."

His words hovered on the edge of Sango's consciouness as she stared numbly into the fire before them. Kaede had gone to sleep hours ago, taking Shippou in with her to comfort the little kit. Looking up at Miroku, Sango made a decision. She'd promised not to tell Inuyasha. She'd said nothing about keeping Miroku in the dark.

"She was trying to keep Inuyasha from seeing the baby," Sango explained softly.

The monk's eyebrows knit in confusion, and he was about to question her when she spoke again.

"The baby is his."

"How…how is that possible? I thought she mated with—"

"It was a lie," Sango answered, cutting him off. "She'd never been with Kouga, it was just a story they made up to explain why she was marked."

"I'm confused."

Laughing at the insanity of the situation, Sango turned to face Miroku fully. "The day they both disappeared, Inuyasha left Tetsusaiga on the beach, remember? Well apparently Kagome was giving off a scent that drove him into a mating urge and along with all the teasing… he became a full youkai and raped her."

Miroku's eyes widened so large Sango thought they'd pop right out of his head. "He…he raped her?"

Eager to finish her story, Sango rushed on, "he doesn't know, even now. Kagome blamed herself for the situation, and didn't want him to feel guilty, so she made up the story about Kouga to hide the truth from him. The infant looks so much like him, Houshi-sama. It even has his ears."

"So she left before he got back so that she could continue to hide the truth from him."

"Hai."

"What are we going to tell him?"

"Nothing. I promised Kagome I would keep her secret, and I expect you to do the same."

When it appeared he was going to protest, Sango shook her head. "Think about it, do you want to be the one to tell him he lost the woman he loves and the child he never knew he had in the same night?"

Miroku pondered her words, and hung his head in sadness when he realized she was right. "I guess not."

"We'll just tell him that Kagome was ill and returned to her home for special treatment. That should be believable enough."

"And when he wonders why she hasn't returned?"

"That's between the two of them and fate."

The monk nodded in agreement, still staring at the ground beneath him. So much sorrow and joy in such a short time. He should have been completely thrilled that his curse was lifted, but at the moment all he could think about was a lonely young mother, a fatherless child, and the naïve hanyou who at any moment would return.

No sooner had he thought of the half-demon when he appeared in the hut.

"Oi Sango, Miroku, where's Kagome?" His face was lit with a shining grin and his hands were clasped behind his back as though hiding something.

The two humans shared a look, silently arguing over who would be the one to break the news. Sango lost the battle, and stood up to face the hanyou.

"Inuyasha, I have some bad news."

His heart stopped at the expression on her face, and he glanced about the room, looking for some sign of the young woman who held his heart. Not finding the yellow backpack or any of her things lying around, he started to sniff the air. That's when he caught it: the scent of birthing.

"She had the baby."

"Yes, but that's not all."

"Tell me she's okay, Sango," he dropped the small parcel he'd been hiding and grasped the taijiya's arms roughly, searching her eyes for evidence of Kagome's whereabouts.

"She's fine, Inuyasha. There were some…complications… after the birth and so she went home to see one of her own doctors."

"Is she going to be okay?"

The taijiya nodded slowly, the lie eating her alive more and more each second. "Yes, I'm sure she'll be perfectly healthy. The baby too."

"Did you get to see it?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He was the most adorable thing you could imagine," she answered him truthfully.

Relieved, Inuyasha released Sango's arms and came to sit on the floor, picking up the pouch he'd dropped in fear.

"What's in the bag?" Miroku asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"It's something I picked up for Kagome," Inuyasha answered him, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I'll give it to her when she comes back."

"May I see it?"

Quickly debating the idea in his head, Inuyasha finally nodded and opened the pouch to drop a small necklace into the palm of his hand. "It was my mother's," he explained, turning over the small rose quartz figurine attached to its chain. "I managed to retrieve it from her after she died, and hid it in a tree not too far from here." His blush deepened into a dark crimson. "I'm going to give it to her when I ask her to become my mate."

Sango broke out into tears, running from the room.


	13. Watchful Eyes

A/N & responses:

Sorry for the whole day's wait. I had car trouble to take care of and writing on a notebook doesn't really work for me anymore (my handwriting is so bad even I can't read it!)

InuGoddess: Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here… but I think I can make this work so we'll see how far I stretch your ability to suspend belief.

****

Chapter Thirteen.

The weather was unseasonably warm on the gray January day Kagome took her son to play under the Goshinboku. She nonetheless pulled a small bonnet over his head, always careful not to catch on the adorable ears she loved to tweak, and led him on stumbling little legs to the base of the tree's enormous trunk.

Watching as the little boy chased a ball a few feet away, she breathed in the familiar scent of the tree's leaves, reveling in the inner peace its fragrance brought her. Seeing the toddler's frustration, she crawled over to him.

"Where's the ball, baby?"

The little boy's lip trembled, ready to cry, and he pointed to a spot just beyond the small fence that surrounded the tree. Retrieving the toy, Kagome smiled and patted him on the head. "Want to hear mommy tell you a story?"

The toddler seemed to understand the question, nodding enthusiastically and clambering up onto her lap. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and gazed up at her adoringly.

"This is the story about Shippou the kitsune and his first battle—"

The little one shrieked. "Otous'n! Otous'n!"

Biting her lip in agitation, Kagome finally nodded and wrapped her arms more securely. "Okay, Inuharu, I'll tell you about Daddy."

"Your otou-san was the strongest hanyou in all of Sengoku Jidai. So when his full demon brother Sesshoumaru came after him to find the renowned katana Tetsusaiga, he was ready to fight an amazing battle. At first the Tetsusaiga looked useless, rusted piece of metal. I'm the one who pulled it out, because it had a barrier protecting it from demons and people with dark hearts.

"Anyway, Sesshoumaru was very mad that he couldn't wield the sword, so he came after me and your fa—"

"Kagome!"

The miko looked up at the interruption, seeing her mother calling for her from the kitchen.

"Mama?"

"Ayumi is on the phone, she said it's about that job interview…?"

Quickly setting Inuharu aside and giving him his ball, she raced to the house at top speed.

"Ayumi?"

"Kagome-chan, great news! My boss is looking for a temporary secretary. It's only for the next six months, but you'll be working on campus by then, right?"

"Hai," Kagome smiled into the receiver. She was so relieved at the news, her legs turned to mush and she plopped into the chair at the small desk. "Thank you so much, Ayumi-chan. This means so much to me. What time is the interview?"  


"Nine o'clock on Thursday. Can you make it?"

"I'll have to reschedule Inuharu's checkup, but that should be fine."

"Good. How is your little cousin, anyway?"

"Oh, um, he's doing well. I was just telling him a story when you called."

"Well in that case, I'll let you go. See you for lunch tomorrow? We can get you ready for the interview."

"Hai, I'll have Mama watch the little one for me."

"All right, Sayonara, Kagome-chan!"

"Sayonara."

Higurashi-san popped her head around the corner and peered at her daughter's smiling face. That particular expression rarely took residence in Kagome's eyes unless the young woman was around her son. "Good news?"

"Hai, Ayumi got me an interview for a temp job."

"Wonderful, Kagome. Did I hear you needed a babysitter?"

"Mm-hmm. Tomorrow for lunch, if you can?"

"That's fine, dear."

Smiling again, Kagome jumped up from the chair and made her way out to the shrine courtyard again. "I'd better get back to Inuharu. He's been crawling so fast lately!"

As she approached the tree, a knot formed in Kagome's stomach. The toddler was nowhere in sight.

"In—Inuharu? Honey, where are you?"

She raced around the trunk of the tree, desperately searching for a sign of his whereabouts.

"Inuharu, this isn't funny! C'mon baby, where did you go?"  


"Kagome? What's wrong?"

"INUHARU!"

Higurashi-san glanced around the courtyard, realizing her daughter was searching for the little boy. "Where was he when you left him?"

"Under the tree," Kagome answered, racing quickly toward the shrine steps, fear welling up in her as a million dreadful scenarios played out in her mind. "Oh Mama, how could I have been so stupid!"

With a breath of relief, she noted that the steps were completely empty, meaning he was still on their property somewhere.

Unless…

"Oh Mama, what if he's been kidnapped?"

"Calm down, honey, children wander off all the time. You keep looking out here and I'll check out the house, okay?"  


"Hai…"

* * * * *

"Boo…Boo…" Inuharu reached out for the fluffy tail waving in his face, desperately trying to catch the fat feline. As he managed to grab a fistful of fur, the cat screeched and pounced further into the darkness of the well house.

Frustrated with the movement of his current source of entertainment, Inuharu crawled faster, catching up with the cat at the top of the stairs leading down into the well. He reached out again, as the cat jumped across the well. Attempting to stand, the toddler cried out again, "Boo…boo…," and tottered on his shaky legs.

A voice in the distance startled him, and as he turned to look he tumbled down the stairs, and into the well.

* * * * *

Inuyasha sat engrossed in the spellbook Kaede had given him to read. They had all but the last shard of the Shikon-no-Tama collected. He refused to rip the jewel fragment from Kohaku, as doing so would instantly kill the boy. Sango had been too good a friend, and surely such a selfish act would taint the jewel forever.

A cool wind blew past his nose, carrying with it a familiar scent. The hanyou started, dropping the book to the ground and breathing in deeply, confirming his initial suspicions.

After a whole year… what was Kagome doing here now?

Tentatively, he hopped down from his perch in the Goshinboku and raced toward the Bone Eater's Well, wary of being seen. She'd abandoned him, with not so much as a letter or a goodbye. He had no intention of allowing her to corrupt his heart again. Not after the way she'd left.

__

Who are you kidding, baka? Of course you'd welcome her back in an instant, don't lie to yourself.

Still, this scent wasn't entirely correct. As he neared the clearing, a loud wailing assaulted his ears, causing him to instinctively clamp his hands over them in pain. The noise was definitely coming from the meadow, but he could see nothing.

Lifting a hand cautiously, and squeezing his eyes shut against the noise, he followed the sound until his foot came into contact with a wooden structure. Peering over the edge in doubtful curiosity, he was shocked to find a crying child sitting at the bottom.

"Nani?" A quick debate raged in his mind before he looked around. Seeing no one else in the clearing, he hopped down and landed on firm ground, as was always the case since Kagome had left that night. Apparently the wench had sealed the well, not wanting him to visit her. Still if that were the case, then why was this little thing here?

He reached down and raised the baby up under its arms, studying the little one's red, crying face. He seemed unharmed, if a little stunned and obviously upset. Inuyasha jumped back up out of the well and came to sit beside it, resting the crying baby on his lap.

Sniffing at him, he detected Kagome's scent all over the child.

__

Why did Kagome bring her baby here, and leave him? That doesn't sound like something she would do. Unless – unless she were in danger!

Jumping up and looking back into the well, he tried to detect the smell of blood or fear, and found nothing of the sort. The toddler was still crying.

"Shh! Quiet down, baka. You're going to make me go deaf."

His voice silenced the child for a moment, but the relief was short-lived.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

"Kuso!"

Inuyasha thrust the child away from himself, his own eyes watering with the pain the sudden wailing had inflicted. He had to get the baby to quiet down, and then he could try to sort this mess out. Securing the little one to his chest, he raced toward the village. Kaede would know what to do about this.


	14. Bonding Moments

Mkh2 – Oops! You're right, I mixed the two up. I'm not at my home pc right now so I'll have to fix it later, but yes, Inuharu and Kagome *are* supposed to be saying 'otou-san'.

Just to clear up confusion, it's January so the baby is wearing a little hat. This is part of the whole suspending belief thing, as is the fact that Inuyasha's being so incredibly dense in this chapter. Chalk it up to his grief/confusion… sometimes when we're really emotional we miss things that are right in front of us. Don't worry, he will figure it out on his own, just going to take time.  
  


**Chapter Fourteen.**

"So it's okay, right?"

"Aye, Inuyasha, the babe is perfectly healthy." Kaede bounced the little one lightly on her lap, hoping the movement would calm him. "You say you found him in the well?"

"Yeah. It's gotta be Kagome's, but I didn't see her anywhere. Maybe she got tired of it screaming so much…"

Sango watched the scene before her, deep in thought. After all the effort Kagome had gone to in keeping him from Inuyasha, she couldn't believe she'd just drop the baby off without a single word of explanation. "Maybe he wandered off on his own," she ventured.

"Is that even possible? As far as we know Kagome and Inuyasha are the only ones who can use the well," Miroku reminded her.

"He IS their—er—her baby," Sango replied, her face reddening at the slip.

Inuyasha hadn't noticed, as he continued to glare at the noise the toddler continued to make. Even Shippou was losing his patience. He'd tried to make the baby laugh, pulling out all his favorite toys, but succeeded only in making the thing cry louder. For Kami's sake, it was the most unholy racket Inuyasha had ever come across, and that included Naraku's death wail.

"Well if it's healthy, then why is it crying so damned much?"

"Probably misses his mother," Shippou answered.

Inuyasha stomped over to Kaede, coming to kneel in front of the toddler. "Look kid, I don't know where your mom is but I'll go get your father, okay?"

"Um, Inuyasha, do you think that's wise?" Miroku shared a concerned look with Sango, knowing Kouga would want nothing to do with the child and fearing Kagome's secret would be revealed.

"Well I don't suppose you have a better idea?"

Alas, they didn't.

While the small group started planning their next course of action, Inuharu opened his eyes for the first time, his gaze coming to rest on the hanyou. All at once, the howling ceased and was replaced with soft sniffling.

Altogether they stared at him, amazed by the sudden transformation.

"Finally," Inuyasha grumbled, coming to stand. "Now you guys stay here and I'll—"

"WAAAAHHH!!!!"

Shippou cocked his head. "Inuyasha? I think the baby wants you to hold him."

"Nani? That's ridiculous."

"If it will get him to stop crying, wouldn't hurt to try," Miroku pointed out.

Growling at the humans, he sighed and took Inuharu from Kaede's arms. All at once the crying stopped again, and he even cracked a little smile.

"I think he likes you," Sango whispered.

"Stupid baby," Inuyasha growled, staring at the squirming toddler.

Miroku had an idea. "Oi, Inuyasha? Since the little one is so taken with you, why don't you stay behind while Sango-sama and I fetch Kouga?"

"No way, I'm not a babysitter."

Sango smiled conspiratorially and came to stand next to Miroku. "We won't be gone long. Don't tell me you're afraid of a little baby?"

"I'm not afraid, baka. I just don't know the first thing about babies."

"Neither do we, really," Sango answered him smugly. "Just keep him occupied and let him sleep when he's tired and that should be fine."

"I can help you," Shippou piped up, eager to play with the little one now that he'd calmed down.

"See? Looks like the baby will be in wonderful hands. Come on, Houshi-sama. We should get going before it gets late."

"But— what if—hey— MATTE!" Inuyasha called out after the pair angrily as they ran out of the hut, pretending they couldn't hear his desperate cries.

"Damn them," he grumbled.

"You shouldn't curse in front of the baby," Shippou announced.

Inuyasha just glared at him in response.

* * * * *

It was late in the afternoon, and Kaede and Shippou had gone off to find something for the little boy to eat for dinner. This left Inuyasha behind to study him closely for the first time.

He was still quite small, likely due to Kagome's petite frame. His lashes were long and soft, giving him a very angelic appearance. Try as he could, Inuyasha could only see Kagome in this little bundle of life, and none of Kouga. For reasons he didn't dare to dwell on, that pleased him immensely.

The toddler squirmed a bit as he struggled to wake up. Inuyasha sat back from the futon, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do with the thing. He prayed to the gods that he wouldn't start bawling again. He wouldn't be able to handle much more abuse to his ears.

At last the little one succeeded in opening his eyes, their golden depths searching out the red-clad figure next to him. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in confusion. Neither Kagome nor Kouga had eyes that color. Then again, neither his mother nor his father had puppy ears. Perhaps the color came from the wimpy wolf's ancestors.

Yawning, the baby rolled over to sit up, and crawled into the hanyou's lap. "Otous'n," he called out, snuggling into the half-demon's haori.

"I think you're a little mixed up," Inuyasha replied with amusement. "But if you don't tell, I won't." He ran a hand over the child's head, grunting at the knit hat his mother had dressed him in. "What is it with Kagome and hats? I'll bet you'd love to get out of that stupid thing, wouldn't you?"

As if agreeing with him, Inuharu sat up straighter and lifted his head up, giving the hanyou access to the bonnet's ties. He fumbled with the tight knots, cursing under his breath when his claws kept slipping around them. Thoroughly annoyed with the failure, he growled and gave up. "Sorry kid, looks like you're stuck with it for now."

"The babe's awake?" Kaede entered the hut, Shippou following close behind, each carrying small bowls of mashed fruits and rice.

"Just now," Inuyasha replied. "Did you find something for him to eat?"

"Yeah, but it looks disgusting," Shippou answered, scrunching his nose in disgust. "Glad I don't have to eat this stuff."

"Well then just be glad and shut up for once," Inuyasha grumbled. "Kaede, do you think you can take this stupid hat off the kid? It looks silly."

"Nay, Inuyasha. It's going to be cold tonight. I think it best we leave him wrapped up."

"Fine." He relinquished his hold of the baby when Kaede came to lift him up. "I'm going to go for a walk, try not to kill the runt."

* * * * *

"I'm sorry Higurashi-san, but that's the best we can do for you."

Kagome clasped her hands onto Inuharu's blanket, bringing it up to her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'll try to be patient, it's just that…"  
  


"I understand; I have a son at home myself. I'll be honest with you: finding a one-year-old in a city this size is like looking for a  needle in a haystack. But, we'll do our best."

"Arigato, officer." Higurashi-san led the gentleman to the door, and then came to fold her daughter in a warm embrace. "These things happen, Kagome. I'm sure the police will do their best work and bring him home."

"What if they can't find him?" Kagome sobbed. "Or worse, what if someone does find him and discovers he's not quite normal?" Her eyes widened, "what if they take him to a military hospital to dissect him like an alien?"  
  


Despite the situation, the elder Higurashi started laughing. "I don't think that's likely, Kagome. Try to calm down and think this through. No one said we had to stop looking ourselves."

Sniffling, Kagome nodded and started to think over her options. Driving around the city wouldn't likely bring much success, especially since the police had already been scouting since taking on the case. Besides, she didn't want to leave home in the event her child was found. "It's already been twenty-four hours, Mama…"

"If only we had some way to track him," Higurashi-san was saying, idly stroking her daughter's raven hair.

Kagome shot up at her words. "Track him. Right! Mama, I have to go."  
  


"Go where?"

"If I bring this blanket to the feudal era, maybe I can get some help tracking Inuharu by his scent!"

"Do you think he'll come?"

Kagome stared through her mother to some indeterminate place beyond. "I don't know Mama, but I don't really have a choice. I hope so."

* * * * *

Kagome lifted herself from the well, blinking in the sunlight that seemed all that much brighter with the glaze of tears in her blood-shot eyes. She couldn't help but feel a little more at peace when she took in the once-familiar surroundings. Even in winter the grass was growing, albeit slower and with some bald patches.

Now was not the time for reminiscing. She patted the baby blanket she'd folded in her arms and took off toward Kaede's village, allowing herself the small comfort of gazing at the trees and birds along the way.

She'd made it as far as the village's outmost border when she heard someone calling her name.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango raced up the the young woman and threw her arms around her in an eager hug. "We were wondering where you were!"

"Nani?" she said weakly, surprised by Sango's words.

"When your baby showed up all alone, we were worried. You aren't the type of woman who'd abandon her own child."

"Show- showed up? He's here?"

Miroku's brow scrunched in concern. "You didn't know the baby was here?"  
  


"Iie… I thought he was wandering around Tokyo. I came here to see if you could help me track him."

For the first time, Miroku and Sango took in the young woman's disheveled appearance and blotchy face. Poor girl had obviously been a wreck.

"Oi, Kagome-chan, we had no idea. We thought you'd left him for us to find because you were in danger or something."

"So he's – he's safe, right?"

"Hai. He's with Inuyasha right now."

"With…Inuyasha?"

Miroku watched the girl carefully, trying to read her emotions. She seemed shocked and more than a little worried. "It's okay, Kagome-sama. He's the one who found the baby."

"Ne, I believe the little one has fallen in love with the hanyou."

"What do you mean?"

Pulling at her arm gently, Sango took off toward the village again. "Why don't you see for yourself?"


	15. In Time All Things Revealed

Grab the popcorn, ladies and gentlemen. The show's about to begin…

****

Chapter Fifteen.

Kagome could only stare in bemused wonder at the sight before her eyes.

Inuyasha rolled on the grass, Inuharu pulled close to his chest to protect the small child's head from injury. The little one squealed in delight, reaching a hand up to tug at Inuyasha's hair as they came to a stop. The hanyou growled playfully at the child… and Inuharu growled right back.

"I think I'm afraid," he mocked the toddler, letting him sit square on his stomach and continue to pull at his hair and push on his nose and eyes. "This demon is a little too much for me to handle. Ouch!" Rubbing his nose when Inuharu managed a too-firm grip, he smirked. "Keep this up and I'll sic you on Miroku."

Pulling Kagome's attention from the scene in the small meadow, Sango whispered into her ear, "they've been like this ever since Miroku and I got back last night. We were worried he'd realize we never went for Kouga, but he was so busy playing with the baby he didn't say a word."

Kagome nodded, her eyes never leaving the two part-demons tussling in the grass. After a while of fond observation, she bit her lip and faced Sango and Miroku. "Will you excuse us, please?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. We'll be back in the village if you need us."

"Arigato, Sango-chan, Miroku. I appreciate your watching over him."

"Don't thank us," Miroku smiled. "Thank Inuyasha."

"I will," Kagome assured him, her face solemn.

Waiting for her two companions to leave the clearing, Kagome cleared her throat and sought the words she would need to explain her sudden return and express her gratitude to the man who'd given her so much. Even then, she didn't know how – or if – to tell him just how big his gift to her was.

Nonetheless, she had to say something. If for no other reason than to whisk the little one up into her arms again and feel for herself that he was safe and happy. With one final, deep breath, she stepped further into the meadow and waited for the wind to shift.

Kagome didn't have to wait long. Inuyasha was mid-tickle when he sat up abruptly, and turned to see her standing only a few meters away. How he'd missed her footsteps was beyond him, but at the moment it didn't matter.

"Kagome?"

"I hear I have you to thank for rescuing my son."

The hanyou blushed, scooting away from the toddler as though to hide their earlier activities. "Feh, I just found him."

"Well, I still thank you." She took a few more hesitant steps forward, finally coming to stand between the two males she loved most. She reached down and picked Inuharu up, brushing bits of grass off his face, and checking him for bruises and scratches.

"I didn't hurt him," Inuyasha defended himself.

"I know," she replied quietly. "It's a mother thing."

They remained in a silent stalemate for a while before Inuyasha could take the awkwardness no longer. "You going to leave us again?"

"Eventually," Kagome answered slowly.

Inuyasha looked away, but not before she caught the pained look in his eyes.

"But… I'll probably come back again."

At this, he lifted his head again, and tried to hide the look of renewed hope that sprang forth. "Why did you leave me? You didn't even say goodbye."  


Kagome lowered herself to the ground setting Inuharu between them and fidgeting needlessly with his small pullover. "I don't know," she answered him. "Maybe because I thought I had to."

"I guess it's easier for you there," he thought aloud, not really expecting a response. Kagome spoke up anyway.

"Not really. I can't take him to our doctors, and I've had to tell all my friends that he's my cousin. I managed to finish school, barely, but my grades were so awful in the end that I couldn't get into a good college. I'm at a community school learning a trade I have no interest in just to make a living for me and my son."

"You could stay here," Inuyasha ventured carefully, his words guarded.

"I could."

The young woman sitting before him was so much more sedate than the Kagome he remembered. Still, he could sense her irrepressible spirit lying beneath the mature façade and ached to release that part of her again. If only for a moment, Inuyasha yearned to have his Kagome back.

"I wanted to ask you to stay with us, before you left. I needed to tell you that—that—" he grunted, his hands balling into fists. "Dammit I'm not good with this emotional crap," he spat.

"What did you need to tell me, Inuyasha?" She rested a hand on one of his fists, hoping to soothe the tension she felt coming off of him and hear his words.

"I wanted to tell you that I … care about you."

"I care about you, too," she answered him, happy with the revelation but disappointed at its lack of depth. Somehow, she'd been hoping for more.

"Wait, that's not what I meant. I mean, it is, but…" he cursed again, finally screwing up his courage to look her directly in the eye. "What I'm trying to say is, I wanted to ask you to be my mate, okay? That's what I wanted to do, but then you left and sealed the damn well and made it perfectly clear that—"

"You wanted me to be your mate?"

The hanyou let the rest of his rant fade away, not willing to repeat himself. Instead, he watched the little tiny toddler grasp at small beetles in the grass. 

Kagome read the meaning in his silence. She'd hurt him. In her cowardice and fear, she'd selfishly thought of only her own comfort, never considering what he wanted or needed. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I shouldn't have run off like that. The truth is, I've been miserable in my own time. The only thing that keeps me going is this little one. Every night I go to bed wishing I was here with you. I should have thought of your feelings, and given you the chance to be a part of my life. Our lives," she amended, patting Inuharu's back gently.

Inuyasha joined in the beetle capturing game, feeling butterflies flutter in his stomach as he prepared to bare his soul to the woman before him. "After a while, I managed to convince myself that I was better off without you and the kid," he admitted. "Thing is, I was lying to myself. Even now, and I'm probably being a damned fool for admitting this… I still want to be your mate." Laughed with self-loathing. "Feh. You probably think I'm an idiot."

"No, I don't." She placed her hands on his face, pulling his eyes up to meet hers once again. "I've never felt so well cared for with anyone but you. Inuyasha, would you really be want to be with me?"

"Yeah."

"The baby, too?"

"Of course, wench, what do you think?"

Words failed them in that moment, but they both knew they wanted the same thing. Inuyasha threw caution to the wind and pulled her into his arms, hugging her as though his life depended on it.

"Stay with me?" he whispered.  


"Hai," she cried quiet, happy tears.

Inuharu, feeling quite left out, wormed his way between them and pulled on Inuyasha's haori.

The hanyou chuckled. "I think someone is trying to get our attention."

Kagome yawned, smiling, and pulled him into her embrace. "I was so worried about you, little one. Never go running off like that again. Mommy didn't get any sleep last night because of you."

"Little ear biter cried so much that the rest of us didn't either."

Kagome smiled at him, turning to lean against his chest and close her eyes. "Then I guess a nap wouldn't be such a bad idea, ne?"

Inuyasha agreed wholeheartedly, bringing his arms around to hold them both securely and leaning back into the grassy hillside. "Maybe just for a little while," he yawned. "Stupid wimpy wolf doesn't know what he's missing," he added with a smirk before falling into a light doze.

At his words, Kagome's heart dropped into her stomach. The shock of his would-be proposal had completely erased the original reason for speaking to him from her mind. Glancing up at the hanyou, she found he was already snoring. She couldn't help but take a moment to caress his cheek, fondly admiring the way his face looked when he was relaxed in sleep. _Later,_ she decided. _I'll tell him everything after we wake up._ _I only hope he still wants me when he knows the truth._

* * * * *

Inuyasha awoke to cooing sounds and the warmth of Kagome's soft body snuggling in the circle of his arms. He smiled, nosing into her hair for a whiff of the scent that uniquely identified her to him. That's when he realized the cooing noises were slowly moving away from them.

__

Does that kid ever stay put?

Gently moving Kagome to the grass, Inuyasha stood up and followed the babbling noises to a nearby stream, eyes wide with alarm as the toddler rapidly approached its bank. He leapt to the edge and pulled back on Inuharu's pullover just as he was losing his balance.

"If you were thirsty, you could have just asked," Inuyasha chided him. He cupped his hands and filled them with water, pouring a small amount into Inuharu's mouth to quench his thirst. The little one drank quickly, wiping at his mouth when he finished and plopping down to sit. Deciding he could use a drink himself, Inuyasha bent down and pulled up another handful of water. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the cool spring water rushing down his throat. He'd been thirstier than he thought.

Opening his eyes again, he found Inuharu's face beside his own, peering into the water. The toddler's bonnet had loosened during their nap, and was beginning to slip off his head. When at last it slid off, the hanyou's eyes widened to the size of moons. He gasped.

The boy had inu ears. Just like his. He continued to study the mirroring waters, slowly comparing their faces. His golden eyes… his nose… Kagome's hair, but… the ears… Stunned, Inuyasha sat back on his haunches, his mind racing faster than he could piece thoughts together.

Inuharu, sensing the elder hanyou's distressed state, toddled over to him and tugged at his hakama. "Otous'n?"

The little boy's utterance cut through the jumble in Inuyasha's head and the hanyou looked into his eyes, pieces of a long forgotten puzzle beginning to fall into place. He picked the boy up and stalked back to their napping place, depositing him safely on the grass before sitting next to Kagome and shaking her awake.

"Na…ni…?"

"You better have a damn good explanation, Kagome."

Her eyes snapped open at the tone of his voice, and she slowly struggled to sit up. When she'd succeeded in waking enough to recognize her surroundings, she felt her heart jump. Inuharu's cap was off, and Inuyasha was livid.

"Well?" The hanyou was tapping his foot on the ground, quite a feat of flexibility considering he was sitting with his legs and arms crossed.

"I—I'm not sure what to say…"

"If I didn't know he hated humans with a passion, I'd say that kid was Sesshoumaru's!" he shouted.

"It's not Sesshoumaru's," Kagome whispered.

"He's obviously not Kouga's."

"No, he's not."

"So? Whose is he, Kagome?"

She sighed, and pulled her son onto her lap, instinctively preparing to protect him from the shouting match she was sure would break out any moment.

"I named him Inuharu," she began softly, her eyes beginning to water, "in recognition of his father, the hanyou Inuyasha."

So it was true. This small being that bore a striking resemblance to himself… was his own son. Still, Inuyasha was thoroughly confused, and that particular feeling angered him. "I think I'd remember mating with you, Kagome."

"Trust me, he's yours," Kagome repeated. "I was there."

"Then where the hell was I?" he shrieked.

Kagome's eyes dropped to the ground. She could feel his frustration coming off of him in hot waves. "You were there too. Just not… all of you."

"What part was?"

"The demon part."

Inuyasha fell back onto his rear, her words beginning to pierce the thick fog of his mind. "What do you mean?"

"You were transformed into your youkai self."

He sat in bewildered silence, desperately trying to remember the last time he'd lost control of himself. At last it came to him.

"That day at the lake."

"Hai."

"You were chasing me, and the next thing I knew, I was in a cave surrounded by your blood…" Slowly, the realization dawning on him, he looked up in horror to see the pain in Kagome's eyes.

"Kagome… I— I didn't… I mean, I couldn't have…"

She nodded, silent tears falling from her eyes onto her cheeks. "I'm afraid so, Inuyasha."

"But what about… you told me there was a demon…"

"There was no demon. I made that up to explain my injuries and the blood."

"And Kouga…"

"Another lie, explaining the mark on my neck and the pregnancy."

He stammered wordlessly, bits of a forgotten memory making their way into his head. He'd seen these visions before -- in his dreams -- but so distorted and broken that he'd never understood what he was seeing. Now, new information in hand, they came together and he saw himself forcing Kagome into sobbing submission. His heart clenched with pain, his fists tightened in anger, and his eyes shut tight, as though doing so would banish the horrible images in his mind.

"All…this…time…" he ground out between clenched teeth, "All this time, I've been the father… and you didn't tell me."

"I didn't want you to find out what you'd done," she pled with him, praying against all odds that he'd see her side of things and forgive her. "After all the time you spent beating yourself up over the bandits you mauled, I thought it would eat you up inside to know you'd violated me in that way. I couldn't let that happen."  


"You never even gave me a chance," he shot back, eyes once again focused on her face. "You just assumed I'd fall apart without letting me apologize and make it up to you. Without giving me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, so it wouldn't happen again. And what's worse, Kagome – you took away an entire year of my son's life from me. A whole damned YEAR!"

Shrinking back from him, Kagome's tears turned into genuine sobs. "I—I know," she stammered. "And it was completely wrong of me. I meant well at first, really I did. But it just got so hard to confess and I became a total coward—"

"Go home, Kagome."

"N-nani?"

His eyes had taken on a dull hue, looking through her into himself. "Go home, Kagome." He stood up, turning to face away from her, his hands still clenched. "I have a lot to think about and frankly, I can't look at you right now." Without waiting for another word from the young woman he stalked off, breaking into a swift run as he reached the edge of the forest.


	16. The End?

****

Chapter Sixteen.

"How long have you known?" Inuyasha came to a stop in the center of Kaede's hut, his blazing eyes staring down each of the three adults sitting stunned before him.

Sango spoke first, squirming in place under his intense look. "What part?"

"Oh gods." The hanyou smacked himself on the forehead, the weight of the last hour settling about him like heavy armor. He suddenly felt a hundred years older. "All of it. Any of it. Was I the only idiot who didn't know? Were you all laughing at me behind my back while I stupidly looked into my own son's eyes and– and—" he couldn't finish the thought.

"No, Inuyasha, we weren't laughing at you. Quite the opposite, in fact." Miroku stood up to grasp his comrade's shoulder in a supportive show of empathy. "I only found out after she left. Apparently only the women here were privileged with the true story."

Sango narrowed her eyes at the monk. "That's not entirely true. I only found out he was yours when I first saw the ears. The part about Kouga I knew from the beginning."

"And what about you, Kaede-baba? Were you clueless like the monk and I, or were you in on this too?"

"I knew it all at the beginning, Inuyasha," she answered him firmly, her own gaze holding fast, refusing to be guilted into apology. It was time the hanyou stopped blaming and fuming and started taking responsibility for the things that happened in his life. If she had anything to say about it, he would start now.

"Inuyasha, where is Kagome?" Sango inquired gently from her place at the fire.

"I sent her back home," he grumbled.

"What? Why?"

Turning his head to the side, he grumbled, "I needed to think."

"Think about what? Isn't this what you wanted? She came back!" Miroku let go of the hanyou, standing back to observe his next actions.

His temper rising again, Inuyasha turned on Miroku. "I know that, Bouzou! I'll go back to get her later, I just needed some time to think! Why is it that I'm not allowed a single damn minute to myself around here without having to run away?"

Blinking, Miroku backed away further. "G-gomen, Inuyasha. I just assumed—"

"You assumed that I was being an immature baka, right? Well even I know when it's time to grow up, so just back off." He strode toward the door in angry steps. "Anyway, I got what I came for. Good night."

* * * * *

He was back in the cave again, though Inuyasha had no idea how he'd managed to find it again after so long. His keen eyes searched the darkness for the scraps of her bathing suit he was sure remained. Finding them at last, he fell to his knees and gathered them up in his hands, sniffing at the air around him.

The smell was very faint, but he could detect the scent of his own body mixed in with hers. The final proof he needed that the entire story was true. He still didn't understand why Kouga had become involved. Had the wolf honestly meant to help, or was he trying to maneuver himself between Inuyasha and Kagome? Either way, he felt a little bad for the demon, and decided to acknowledge his help the next time their paths crossed.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to resurrect the images from his nightmares, for the first time consciously absorbing the entire morbid ordeal from start to finish. If Kagome had to live through it, the least he could do was remember it. It was the only way he could understand completely what he'd done to her, and perhaps offer her some comfort, even if belated.

The visions kept replaying, each time angering him further. Yes, anger was a familiar emotion, protecting him from more vulnerable feelings: sadness, guilt, and betrayal. Opening his eyes again, Inuyasha felt hot tears beginning to form in his eyes.

__

Men don't cry, he censured himself. _Only weaklings cry._

His body ignored the rebuke and the brave hanyou Inuyasha found himself bawling into his fists, aching to hug the young woman from his nightmare and take it all away. In the back of his mind he began to recall all the instances in the early months when she'd pulled away from him, or flinched at his touch. He'd assumed she did it out of respect for her mate, but now he knew that she'd been afraid of him.

Was she still afraid?

After a while the searing stabs in his heart dulled into a steady ache again, and he managed to stand up once again. He had a son, and a beautiful one at that. He'd always known Kagome's children would have perfect faces, but Inuharu would rival even Sesshoumaru's attractiveness when he grew up. Thoughts of the boy led Inuyasha back out of the cave and into the night sky. He wanted to see the child again, and apologize to him, too, for being such a dense baka.

A part of him still wanted to slash at the trees in his forest and beat up on some hapless but evil-doing youkai, but for the first time in his life Inuyasha decided there were more important things to do than seek revenge, even if it was against himself. He had a family that needed him, and at the age of twenty – or was it seventy now? – the hanyou realized it was finally time to grow up.

* * * * *

That the well allowed him to pass once again was the second greatest piece of news Inuyasha got that day. He emerged from the well house and scanned the courtyard. Everything seemed much as he remembered it, aside from a few small children's toys scattered about the pavement.

He approached the house warily, still not entirely sure what he wanted to say or even how to enter. What were Kagome's mother's feelings about him? If she despised him, he would likely be thrown out of the house and kept away with demon wards. Granted, the old man had no magical abilities whatsoever, but if Kagome had already created the wards in his absence, even a fool could attach them to the walls.

Back in the house, the silence of sleep was suddenly interrupted by the familiar wailing of a young quarter-demon. Higurashi-san groaned, and rolled out of bed. She'd begged Kagome to take the night off, seeing her pained expression on the return from the well and knowing the young woman hadn't slept more than a few hours the night before. Now she was beginning to regret her kindness. This was sure to be a long night.

Wrapping her robe about herself, the young grandmother approached the door to her grandson's nursery just as the crying ceased.

__

Thank Kami for small blessings, she sighed. Nonetheless, checking in on the little one would be a good idea. She pushed aside the door and stopped in her tracks.

Inuyasha looked up at the appearance of Kagome's mother, a feeble smile coming to his face in what he hoped was an apologetic look. "We mutts like having our ears rubbed, as long as it's done properly. Quickest way to get us to sleep," he whispered, lightly stroking the outer edges with an index finger while massaging the inner base with his thumb. Inuharu rested against his chest, cradled in the hanyou's other arm while he rocked back and forth on his feet.

Higurashi-san was at a loss for words, since she had no idea what had happened between the hanyou and her daughter. She'd assumed he'd rejected her entirely, and was none to happy about the prospect. Still, here he was, comforting his son and behaving remarkably much like a proper young father should.

Sensing her conflicted emotions, Inuyasha replaced the child in his crib and walked a few steps closer to her. "Kagome is asleep, right? That girl never gets enough rest."

"That girl isn't such a girl anymore," Higurashi-san reminded him. "She's had to mature very quickly to deal with this situation."

Inuyasha's gaze fell to the floor in shame. "I know. I should have been there for her, but I… I didn't know. Believe me, if I had any idea –"

"You probably would have run off to punish yourself instead of calmly dealing with the circumstances."

"Hai, you're probably right," he somberly agreed.

"Are you ready to face your responsibilities now?"

Eyes rising once again to meet her own, he nodded firmly. "It's all I want in life. In fact, all I ever wanted."

"All you ever wanted was Kagome?"

"No. A family," he explained.

They remained quiet a few second longer, each coming to terms with their new relationship.

"She's in her room, trying to sleep," Higurashi-san finally revealed. "But if I know my daughter, she's probably still wide awake." Before he could walk out the door, she took hold of his arm. "But let me warn you, Inuyasha. If you hurt my daughter again, I will come after you. It's a little-known secret but Kagome isn't the only one with miko powers in this family."

"You…" he stared at her in surprise.

"Hai. But that is a secret that doesn't leave these walls, agreed?"  


He quickly nodded, gulping at the tough edge to her declaration. She released his arm and turned back towards her bedroom. "Oyasumi nasai, Inuyasha."

* * * * *

Inuyasha wasn't the type of man to drop in on a person to berate them. If he was angry he'd brood in solitude, then either maim his enemy or ignore them entirely. Since she knew he'd never actually attack her, this meant only one thing. He'd forgiven her.

"Do you have any idea how many times I fantasized about you appearing in my window at night, just like you are now?"

Not wanting to give up his edge in the upcoming conversation, he stifled 'amused chuckle' and settled for 'curious stare'. "This isn't the first time I've come in this way."

Shaking her head, Kagome stood up from her bed, her blanket falling to the ground. "No, I mean, exactly like this. The moon at your back, the breeze shifting your hair around your eyes. Looking entirely like some angel of hell, or demon of heaven. I'm not sure which, but… dangerously beautiful."

He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up at her words. She blushed, clasping her hands in front of her and averting her gaze to the floor. "I know; just the silly fantasies of a sexually frustrated teenager. I guess I never really did finish growing up."

Hopping down from the window sill, Inuyasha scratched his head and came to stand before her. "Sexually frustrated, huh?"  


"We all have our needs, Inuyasha."

"You were a virgin before it happened."

"Yeah," she whispered.

"And after? Was there – is there anyone else?"  


She looked up at him in surprise, blinking her eyes at the serious but gentle way he was looking at her. "I'm a single mother, Inuyasha. I don't exactly have time for things like that. Besides, I don't really want anyone else."

"Good," he said simply and then took up staring at her again.

Feeling unnerved by the lack of communication, Kagome immediately started babbling every apology she thought she owed him. "Inuyasha, I don't blame you one bit for being mad at me. I had no right to keep that kind of secret from you. Inuharu is as much your son as mine, regardless of how he was conceived."

Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Inuyasha nodded then took her by the hand and sat down on the edge of the bed, bringing her down to sit beside him. He remained quiet for a moment, listening to the soft creaking of wood settling in the house's frame.

"So let's see," he finally began. "I ran off – again – like a damned fool. I abandoned you and our son instead of talking things out rationally. I impregnated you and wasn't there for the birth. I questioned your moral character. And then, of course, the obvious: I raped you." Pausing at the painful admission, he added, "that about cover it?"  


"I think so," she responded quietly.

"Somehow saying I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough."

Seeing the remorse in his eyes, Kagome squeezed his hand gently. "It's been almost two years, Inuyasha. You weren't yourself. Drop it. I already have." She watched the way his fingers wrapped around her own, thinking not for the first time how it seemed they were made to fit together. "But if you insist on beating yourself up over it, you could try making it up to me, instead."

"Are you afraid of me?"

She shook her head. "Not one bit."

"Then maybe you won't mind if I kiss you?"

Any response she might have offered was muffled by his lips descending onto her own, the contact gentle and loving. He wasn't going to push her one bit, but he also knew she was too timid to start anything on her own. This was his chance to show her his body could bring her something other than pain, and he wasn't going to rush through it.

"Well?" he asked shyly when the kiss ended.

"That was nice," she answered him, a small blush tinting her cheeks. "What else you got?"

He grinned broadly, and brought a hand to rest in the back of her head, pulling her back in for another, deeper kiss. This one stoked the small fire that always existed in his belly whenever she was around. Afraid of losing control again, he used his free hand to rest on Tetsusaiga, assuring himself that the katana was safely at his side.

Kagome noticed his movements, and glanced down at his actions. "I'm not worried about this; I don't think you have to be either."

"I don't want to hurt you again, Kagome."

"How about we make a deal? If I don't pounce, you don't? Besides," she added, a hint of fiery lust appearing in her eyes, "if I get poked by something tonight, it better not be a sword."

Unable to contain his laughter at her words, Inuyasha let out a loud chuckle, quickly calming to remove Tetsusaiga from his waist and bringing it to rest against the bedside table. "Fair enough," he decided. "Now, where were we?"

"Right about here," Kagome answered, bringing his head down to kiss him again, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. "I think Inuharu might like a brother, ne?"


	17. Epilogue

There have been requests for more, and I had toyed with the idea of epilogue when I finished chapter sixteen. So by popular demand, here it is. It's short, hopefully sweet, and definitely the last piece of this story.

Once again, I want to thank my reviewers for their ever-insightful comments, encouraging praise, and constructive criticisms. It always means the world to me to open my inbox and have a small barrage of reviews. At present I have no major plot bunnies to explore, aside from a few more one-shots in the Courtship Universe. This is a good thing, as I have a lot of work to do in "real life". However, if I do come up with a plot idea it will be typed up faster than you can say "Feh" :-)

And now, the conclusion.

**Epilogue.**

Okay so they were impassioned, not stupid. Kagome had, naturally, begun a course of birth control pills as soon as it was safe to do so and Inuyasha could tell from her scent that this time, she was most definitely not going to get pregnant. Inuharu would just have to content himself with Shippou for a while.

Miroku and Sango, however, were another story.

* * * * * *

"Oh you lecherous houshi," she snarled at him as she pushed her way through another contraction.

"You did agree to bear my children, remember? Ten, or even twenty, we said."

"Well you better be prepared to drop that number – ARGH! – because I think this is going to be the one and only. KAGOME-CHAN!"

"Sango-chan?"  
  


"Can't I push yet?"

Kagome shook her head, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "Not just yet, but soon. I promise." Waiting for the taijiya's pain to subside, she added slyly, "You know, you say you only want one now, but just wait and see how quickly you forget about all of this when you have that adorable baby in your arms!"

"Not…a…chance…" she ground out, reaching for Miroku's once-cursed hand and squeezing the life out of it.

* * * * *

"Come here, runt." Inuyasha grabbed Inuharu off the tree he was climbing, as always amazed by his speed in getting, well, anywhere.

"Go up twee, Daddy!"

"Didn't you want to meet Sango's baby when it was born?"

"Hai!" he replied cheerily, allowing his father to scoop him up and walk off toward the village.

He'd made it about twenty meters when Kouga popped out from hiding. "Fast little whelp you got there," he noted casually. "I've been… observing."

Inuyasha smiled a little, toying with his son's miniature hakama. "Yeah, I'm surprised myself."

"Guess demon blood is stronger than human," he mused. "Well anyway, gotta get back to hunting. Ayame says we have two whelping females now, and you know how those women get when they're pupped."

"Hai." The wolf demon had started to walk away when Inuyasha called out to him.

"Yeah, dog-breath?" The insult held little malice, and was merely a cover for their mutual respect.

"I'm, uh, sorry about how things happened back then. You tried to help, and we weren't very nice to you."

"Don't kid yourself," Kouga returned with a dismissive wave of the hand. "I wasn't exactly being selfless."

"Kinda figured," Inuyasha grumbled lightly.

"Anyway, we all won in the end, right? You have your whelp and Kagome, and I have Ayame, who isn't half bad herself."

"Yeah. Well thank you, anyway."  
  


"No problem. You just take care of your woman, okay?"

Nodding, the hanyou watched as Kouga took off in a run for the forest once again.

Inuharu scrunched up his nose. "Stinky."

Inuyasha laughed.

* * * * *

And so life went on. Miroku and Sango did, in fact, reach an astounding number of little lecherous monklettes and taijiyas, though Kagome procured a pill prescription for her after number twelve. The miko and her hanyou mate agreed heartily that two quarter-demons were enough for any family, and were glad that their young sons got along much better than their father and uncle had. At least, so far.

Kohaku didn't survive the shard extraction, despite Kagome and Kaede's best efforts, though he did manage to meet his first niece. Sango made her peace with him, and lay him to rest among the bones of her father and villagers, setting up her new family's home in the old village to continue the work she knew best.

Inuyasha and Kagome stayed in the village he'd once terrorized, giving him ample opportunity to make up for past transgressions and providing his sons with the kind of life he'd never had. Here, no one belittled his children for their odd parentage. All in all, the hanyou felt his unhappy story came to a wonderfully contented ending.

And indeed, Kagome never pounced on a demon again. 

Unless he personally requested it, that is. 

The End. For real, this time.


End file.
